Unimpressed
by Like A Dove
Summary: Bella is not impressed with Jacob's new girlfriend. Not impressed at all. Moving back to Forks and working a crappy job sucks. Watching Jacob Black date a girl who is not you sucks. Life just sucks. Well, for Bella it does.
1. Chapter 1

**New fic! Longer chapters then my other WIPs, less angst, more laughs. Enjoy and review!**

* * *

Bella Swan's truck was still a piece of shit. It groaned and spluttered as she turned it off, right in front of Moe's Diner. She grabbed her bag and climbed out of her truck, apprehensively eyeing the "Now Hiring" sign taped to the front door. Bella had spent the past week looking for a job, and this one had been her last resort.

The diner smelled like fried food and sweat, and Bella grimaced when she spotted three sweaty construction workers hunched over their steaks and beers. Why did she have a feeling that the uniforms here consisted of tight white t-shirts and itty bitty shorts?

The girl rounded on her immediately. "Just you?" she asked as she grabbed a menu and silverware.

Bella shook her head. "No, I was just here to ask about your, um, sign that says you're hiring. I need a job and—"

"Well obviously you need a job or you wouldn't be asking about our sign. This way." She turned on her heel and walked into the back of the diner, and Bella quickly fell in step behind her.

"Have a seat." The girl gestured to a dingy chair sitting in front of an equally dingy work desk. Bella assumed this was the office as it was cluttered with papers, old pictures and articles, and a plaque that said "Washington's Best Cheeseburger As Voted By Reader's of Washington Magazine – 1996". Bella let her bag fall to the floor as she sat down on the chair, nervously twisting her hands.

"What's your name?" the girl asked as she sat on the other side of the desk.

"Bella Swan."

The girl raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Oh yeah, I remember you. You came to Forks High School during my senior year. I remember because you started dating that Cullen guy with the weird as fuck eye color. His brother, Emmett, totally sat next to me in Honors British Lit and he helped me bullshit my way through a Dracula presentation because I had forgotten that it was due that day. That dude was so cool."

Bella blinked. "Um, yeah. That would be me."

The girl cleared her throat before nodding. "Okay moving on. Have you ever worked in the food industry?"

Bella shook her head.

"Have you ever worked in customer service?"

"Well, I used to work at the camping shop that the Newton's owned, but they were slow a lot of the time—"

"Okay yeah, that doesn't count. So you haven't worked in the food industry and you don't have a lot of experience in customer service." She cocked an eyebrow at Bella. "So what jobs _have _you had?"

"I worked at the Newton's, like I said, and I also worked part time at an independent bookstore while I was at college, but it was mostly just stocking the shelves and pricing things."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "And you want to work as a waitress because…?"

Bella opened her mouth to answer when a loud crash came from the front of the diner. The sound was of glass and plates falling to the floor and shattering, followed by a "Shit shit _shit, _oh my god!"

"You have _got _to be kidding me," the girl groaned, covering her face with her hands. She peaked at Bella through her fingers before sighing. "You're hired."

* * *

The uniforms were actually just a plain "Moe's Diner" t-shirt and jeans, which was a relief to Bella, since she was already wearing jeans and the girl, also known as Mia, had a cardboard box full of "Moe's Diner" employee t-shirts in the back.

"You keep the shirt if you get fired by the way," she snapped as she shoved the shirt in Bella's direction. Apparently being hired on the spot also meant immediately going to work. As Bella pulled her employee shirt over her tank top Mia rambled off the system.

"The customer will always come first. Even if they're the most annoying piece of shit to ever sit their fatass down in your section, you have to be nice to them _no matter what. _Tips are everything and don't think for a second that everyone tips just because it's the cultural thing to do, there are some cheap bitches up in here. If the customer claims you messed up their order, even when you know for a fact that you didn't, you smile and lie through your teeth about how sorry you are and about how you'll render the situation, got it?"

Bella nodded.

"I'm not going to lie to you, this job can suck sometimes, and you'll be on your feet a lot. I want to know I'm not hiring an employee who will whine and bitch when things aren't going their way."

Bella gulped. Turning around and hauling her and her truck out of this dump sounded like a _fantastic _idea.

Sadly, she really needed this job.

"I promise I'll try my hardest."

Mia grumbled something under her breath before shoving a small notepad and pen into Bella's hands. "Alright then. Get to work. If you have any questions ask me or Lenny, the cook."

Bella glanced at the kitchen and spotted a shaggy looking guy with a lip piercing and neck tattoos. "Lenny?" she echoed. Mia sighed, exasperated. "Yes, that is Lenny the cook. Is that not what I just said?" Then she turned around and marched over to a table in her section where a couple of customers had just sat down.

The front door chimed and a couple of men, obviously just getting off of work, walked in and slumped down into one of the booths in Bella's section. She took a deep breath, clutched her notepad and pen to her chest, and walked over to them with a purpose.

* * *

Mia locked the door at 10pm, and Bella practically collapsed into one of the booths. Her hair, which she had hastily pulled back into a ponytail when she realized that diners actually got busy around the dinner hour, was sticking out at all sorts of angles and her bangs were glued to her forehead. Her feet _hurt_, she would have to get more supportive shoes, and she already had food stains on her employee t-shirt.

Also, Lenny was _weird. _He knew exactly who she was ("You dated Cullen and broke that Jacob Black guy's heart right?"), before she had even introduced herself. He also gave her the _eye. _You know, that weird look people give you when they know something about you, something unpleasant? Yeah, he kept giving her that.

A wet rag landed in Bella's lap. "Start wiping down all the tables missy," Mia instructed. She went to bend over a table when she straightened up and eyed the door. She turned around and sent a glare at Lenny. "I told you to tell your girlfriend to stop coming around here after closing. She distracts you and then I end up doing everything by myself.

Lenny rolled his eyes. "Sorry Mia, but you know she does her own thing," he said as he walked over to the front door and opened it.

"Do I look like I give a fuck?" Mia snapped.

But Lenny was already embracing the girl he had let inside, and from what Bella could see, they were very _enthusiastic _for each other. The girl also looked somewhat familiar…

It wasn't until she whipped her head away from her boyfriend to give her the glare of death that Bella realized who she was.

"What. The. Everloving. Fuck," Leah Clearwater said, her voice cold and furious.

Both Bella and Lenny opened their mouths to say something, but Mia beat them to it. "She's my new employee, what the hell is it to you, Clearwater?"

Leah turned and frowned at Mia. "She was someone a lot of people around here were hoping to never see again, that's what it is." She turned and gave Bella another stony look. "I can't believe you hired her."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Terribly sorry, I forgot to give a shit."

Leah's eyes narrowed, and Bella, who was used to watching people grow intimidated under her stare, was surprised (and admittedly impressed) to see Mia's eyes narrow right back at her.

They stood there, glaring at each other, for a moment before Leah huffed and looked away. She rocked back on her heels and tilted her head up to assess the ceiling tiles. Another moment passed. "Whatever," she finally said. "I guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, I stopped by to see if you guys wanted to come to a party on the rez. There's supposed to be free beer and shit." She turned her head to eye Mia again, and Bella realized there was a level of respect there. It was surprising.

Once again Mia returned the look before shrugging and turning back to her work. "Maybe I'll stop by after I finish up here." She turned back around, her eyes giving both Bella and Leah pointed looks. Leah got the message before Bella did, and she recoiled. "No—"

Mia whipped around. "You come in here, distract my cook, and then insult and belittle mywaitress and _then _you have the _nerve _to invite us to a party _except _for my waitress, and you do this in front of her _face? _Fuck off."

Leah made some kind of hissing sound before rounding on Bella. "Fine, you can come too okay? But leave _him_ alone. Do you understand me Bella? He's happy now, so _leave him alone._"

Flashes of warm sodas, a cozy garage, "I'm older then you because I can cook edible food", "Kiss me and come back", a kiss that had melted the ice, and the lie "I love him more", flashed through Bella's mind like a film. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"It's okay, I don't have to go," she breathed. She looked up at Leah. "I'm obviously not wanted there anyway."

Leah gave her a sharp nod, before turning towards Mia and giving her directions to the party. Then she took Lenny's hand and left.

A dirty rag hit her in the face.

"What the _fuck!_"

Bella yanked the rag off her face and slammed it down onto the table. "What?" she exclaimed, exasperated.

"You let Leah Clearwater _win_," Mia snarled, picking up her rag only to throw it back at Bella again. "You just let her waltz in here and shove her heel up your ass. Do you have a backbone?"

The answer 'no' was on the tip of Bella's tongue; instead she leaned away from Mia and sighed. "Well, she was right. I'm not wanted there."

Mia opened her mouth to retort before thinking better of it and smacking Bella in the shoulder with her rag instead. "That's too bad. We're going."

* * *

Bella could hear the pounding of the bass as they rounded the street corner in Mia's Honda. This house was right on the edge of La Push, and Bella could see that the party goers were a mix of Quileutes and kids from Forks.

"Maybe I should just stay in the car."

Mia blinked at her as she put the car in park. "Um, no?"

And that was how Bella found herself being dragged into a house party. The first thing they did was go to the keg, where Mia helped herself to a cup of beer ("Ew, its flat.") while Bella just shook her head and said she'd stick to water.

When Bella spotted Quil and Paul hovering by the kitchen she wanted to run from the house before anyone spotted her. Her heart was racing as she slowly began easing her way towards the front door, praying, _praying _that no one saw her, that Mia wouldn't shout her name and make everyone look in her direction, that _he _wouldn't see her.

Anything but that.

Because apparently he was happy now, and if there was one thing she wanted for him and for herself, it was for him to be happy. He deserved it.

"Oh hey, um, you left your bag by the keg."

Bella turned around, expecting Mia, only to find a lovely girl holding out her bag for her. She had a nice smile and startling blue eyes that contrasted nicely against her dark skin.

"Um, thank you."

The girl gave her a friendly smile. "Well, it would suck to leave your bag anywhere, and you also looked like you really wanted to leave. Figured I'd help out." She paused. "Any reason why you're trying to peace out so quickly?"

"Um," Bella swung her bag over her shoulder and glanced around, hoping she wouldn't see _him. _"To be honest, I'm actually avoiding someone."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Oh? That's um, interesting. What's the back story?" She crossed her arms and looked at Bella expectedly.

Bella fumbled around for an easy explanation/escape and took a small step towards the front door in the process.

"I broke this guy's heart." She winced at how casual she sounded.

The girl smirked. "That's just asking for an awkward situation right there."

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, you came with Mia, so I'm assuming you work at Moe's. My name is Haley, and you seem cool. Maybe at the next party this guy won't be here."

"Yeah, I do work at Moe's." Bella was now attempting to make her way towards the door again. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime?"

"What's your name?"

"Uh—"

"_Bella Swan."_

Bella froze and squeezed her eyes shut.

_Crap._

She slowly turned back around.

_Just maybe it's not him, maybe it's someone who sounds exactly like him…_

She opened her eyes.

_Who looks exactly like him…_

"HelloJacobfancyseeingyouhere."

_Who had the exact same Jacob grin…_

"Oh my god Bells!" he exclaimed gleefully, wrapping her up in a huge hug.

…_and the same Jacob hug…_

"What the _hell _have you been up to?" He pulled away from her and appraised her with a cheeky grin. "Lookin' good Bells."

_Just maybe, just maybe, just maybe…_

Nope, Bella was fucked.

"T-Thanks Jake, you're uh, you're looking good too." She felt the blush creep into her cheeks as she took him in. He looked relatively the same. Still huge with lean muscles, still working his just-to-his-chin hair style, still happy to see her, still _sort of beautiful._

Still _Jacob._

Fuck her life.

"God, Bella, I had no idea you were even—When did you move back?" He watched her expectantly, happiness etched across his face.

"Over a week ago."

Some of that happiness slid off his face. "Oh, um, well it's great you're back in town!"

Bella immediately felt bad. If only he knew she hadn't called him for his sake, not hers.

Haley cleared her throat. She had been looking at Bella with an unreadable expression.

"Oh, yeah. Bells, this is Haley."

Bella gave her a little wave. "We've already met."

Jacob put his arm around her. "She's my girlfriend."

_Oh._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews (all five of you :D)! **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Oh." Bella voiced her thoughts. "That's um…that's great Jacob. Wow."

The smile on Jacob's face faltered a little. He reached up and scratched his head before glancing down at Haley. "Yeah, heh, we've been together for…about, um—"

"Seven months," Haley answered for him. She gave both him and Bella a tight smile. "I've heard a lot about you, Bella."

Bella froze before glancing at the front door again. She would never be able to escape at this rate. "Apparently I'm a hot topic."

Jacob seemed to sense her distress. He dropped his arm from Haley's shoulder and gave Bella's a reassuring pat instead. "It's been three years Bells. Trust me, everyone is over what happened." Haley raised her eyebrows at Jacob before looking back in forth between him and Bella a few times. She took a step back from both of them. "I'm going to go find Paul. He was trying to tell me something earlier about him and his girlfriend having a disagreement and I promised I'd listen to him moan and bitch." She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Jacob and Bella alone.

Jacob's eyes followed after Haley, taking in her retreating form. This absolutely unnerved Bella. "She seems cool," she said.

He grinned at her. "Oh yeah, she's awesome. I met her through a mutual friend." He started rattling off all of her good traits, as if Bella really wanted to hear about why Haley was so wonderful. "She knows _a lot _about cars. Apparently her brother was always fixing up his piece of shit Saturn and she learned through watching him. She can grill steaks, she likes to watch sports, she's totally into Pay Per View Wrestling, we both want to go on an epic road trip when we graduate from college, she kicked Paul's ass at poker one time which was _amazing_—"

Blah blah blah. She was basically everything that Bella was not.

Great.

After a moment of silence, Bella realized that Jacob had stopped talking. He was giving her a funny look. "Uh, Bells? You there?"

"Yeah," Bella said dejectedly. "She sounds really lovely Jacob."

His expression got all warm and happy. "Yeah she is. Anyway, I'm glad I got to see you Bells. I'll drop by Moe's sometime later this week and we can properly catch up, okay?"

"Okay," Bella echoed, her voice flat. Jacob pulled her into a friendly hug before patting her back and taking off to go find his girlfriend. Bella's hands balled up into fists as she watched him leave.

She was…not happy.

Mia made her way over to them, a can of Mountain Dew in her hand. "What's up?" She paused and took in Bella's expression. "Who pissed on you and told you it was raining?"

Bella sighed before crossing her arms over her chest. "It's nothing." But Mia wasn't stupid. She followed Bella's gaze to where Jacob and Haley were standing together, embracing each other and laughing.

"I see. Old fuck buddy?"

"What? Um…no. No no no no no. We were never like _that_—"

"Yeah, but see, you're giving his girlfriend something I like to call The Epic Glare. It's just something human beings give other human beings whom they would like to see pushed off a building. So, as someone who is merrily observing the situation, I have to assume that you and that dude were _involved _with each other at some point."

"Well," Bella tried not to stutter, "I mean _we were_ at one point yes, but things never went that far. They just…some other stuff happened."

Mia made a 'humpf' noise. "I already know I need a back story."

"You can ask pretty much anyone in this room about our 'back story' and they would be able to tell you all about it," said Bella bitterly.

Mia shrugged. "Very well." She grabbed onto the t-shirt of a guy standing to her left and pulled him in front of her and Bella, and to Bella's horror Embry Call was now staring down at both of them with a look of utter confusion.

The look of confusion immediately turned into one of delight when he spotted Mia. "Well hey there."

"_You!_" Mia snarled before turning around and stomping away. Embry grinned after her. "She'll come around."He turned his attention to Bella. "Oh, hey Swan. I heard you were here."

"Yep."

Mia stomped back up to them and shoved a finger at Embry's chest. "You're the bastard who spray painted a dick on the side of my diner!"

Embry smirked. "To be fair, I didn't know it was _your _diner. And it was also a dare."

The deadliest look appeared on Mia's face. "You painted a _penis _on the side of my diner. Normal people," she shoved her finger at his chest again, "_do not do that._ It took me two days to scrub that piece of anatomy off my building. Two _motherfucking _days."

Embry rolled his eyes. "Fine, I owe you one."

"Hell yeah you do," she growled. She opened her mouth to say something else when—

"Can we please leave?"

Both Embry and Mia turned their heads in Bella's direction because she sounded _that miserable. _Bella was doing everything in her power to **not **look in Jacob and Haley's direction.

_Be happy for him, be happy for him, be happy for him._

"You okay Swan?" Embry asked.

"She's been upset since she saw those two canoodling," Mia answered for her, jerking a thumb in the happy couple's direction.

Embry raised an eyebrow and gave Bella a pointed look.

"I would like to know what is going on," Mia prodded. Embry looked at Bella for permission. She just shrugged half heartedly.

"Okay so what had happened was," Embry said, launching into the story, "Bella was dating this guy named Edward Cullen. But then Cullen dumped her ass in the middle of the woods and Bella went all emo psycho on everyone. No offence Bella. But then she and Jacob started hanging out and she got like, better and stuff. And then she and Jacob were pretty much together when all the sudden Cullen came back and said he wanted to be with Bella again. So then there was this three week period of Bella going back and forth between Jacob and Edward because she's so fucking indecisive. No offence Bella. And then Bella decided to be a fucking idiot and get engaged to Cullen. Even though she was barely 18 and Cullen was a douchebag. No offence Bella. And then Bella and Cullen peaced out for a couple of years and then all we heard was they had a," he glanced at Bella, gauging her reaction for the right phrase, "falling out? Yeah a falling out. And then she went to college and then she came back here."

Bella's Life Story, As Told By Embry.

Mia frowned at Bella. "So, I'm guessing by the way you've reacted to finding out about Jacob's girlfriend, you still have feelings for the guy."

"You're jealous," Embry added with a nod.

Bella turned and, finally, left the two of them standing there as she walked out of the front door. She wanted to throw something, maybe even kick a tire, who knew. But seeing _them _together was absolutely infuriating and even the thought of them kissing or _canoodling _as Mia had put it was…

Ew ew ew ew ew.

It made her sick to her stomach.

"Get a grip Bella," she said to herself out loud. "He's _happy._ You wanted him to be happy when you left. You _wanted this _for him."

Of course she had. She had always imagined Jacob with another girl, laughing and snuggling, finally happy with someone after all the pain Bella had put him through. Although, now that she thought about it, that girl she had imagined with Jacob looked an awful lot like herself…

_Crap. _Bella felt…jealous.

Bella Swan was _jealou_s. She loathed the feeling already.

"Alright, yeah, just leave us why don't you."

Bella, who was leaning up against Mia's Honda, turned her head to see Mia and Embry walking up to her.

"Are you actually jealous Bella?" Embry asked, an actual hint of concern in his voice. "Cause if you are then this is, well, this is not good."

"Why?" Bella and Mia asked in unison.

Embry sighed. "Oh _come on _Bella. It's you, and then it's Jacob. You're two peas in a pod. He's the air and the sun to, I don't know, your planet."

"He seemed satisfied with Haley," Bella pointed out.

Embry frowned. "He does have pretty strong feelings for her. But I don't know, I hate that bitch."

Both Mia and Bella blinked at him in surprise.

"Well, I mean, she's not an a_ctual _bitch or anything. She just annoys me and the rest of the pa—I mean, me and the other guys. She's like a female version of Jake, which normally would be cool, but she used to not be that way. She's the kind of girl that morphs into a certain person depending on the guy she's dating."

"That's lame," Mia said.

Embry nodded in agreement. "It is. But Jacob has a soft spot for her, so I'm not going to say anything." He eyed Bella. "I think Bella should woe him back."

Bella opened up the passenger's door to the Honda and climbed in.

"Oh, come on Bella, it was just a joke! Although I mean, if you wanted to…"

But Mia was already sliding into the driver's seat, causing Embry to take a few steps away from the car when she turned on the ignition. As they pulled out of the driveway and onto the road Mia said, "He has a point. I mean, basically Jacob is dating someone who is totally fake."

Bella shook her head. "That's not fair to either of them. And maybe she's just insecure about who she really is or something, and wants him to like her, or…love her maybe."

"Are you suggesting she change who she is for a guy?"

"Well, it's understandable," Bella said with a pout.

"Okay, the feminist inside of me is going to pretend you didn't just agree to that. Obviously this relationship is fake and based off of a persona that isn't real."

"You're too invested in this."

"You should totally fake date someone and get Jacob back. It would be so awesome."

Bella threw Mia a look. "And how is that any different from faking a persona for a guy?"

Mia frowned, turning on her brights as she got on the highway heading towards the diner. "Point taken. But I mean you don't have to be Facebook Official with anyone."

"We're ending this conversation."

"Fine."

But Bella's mind was already reeling from the idea. It would make Jacob jealous and—

No. No. Absolutely not. She couldn't go through with something like that. It could potentially damage her already fragile relationship with Jacob.

Or it could get them back together.

Bella chewed on the inside of her cheek. Okay, the idea was tempting. As long as the person she was 'fake dating' was in on it…

Nope. She couldn't.

She heard Mia snort. "And you know, that kid Embry does owe me one."

Hmm. Perhaps she could.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Things are starting to move forward! Please read and review!**

* * *

It was Tuesday, around three in the afternoon, and the diner was dead. Bella was hunched over at one of the booths, attempting to work out the Su Do Ku puzzle that she had found in the newspaper. She was trying **not **to think about the fact that Jacob had called her apartment (how he had discovered her number she wasn't sure) yesterday to announce that he would be dropping by that day.

She was a bit petrified, not to mention irritated. If he was going to spend the entire afternoon talking about Haley she was surely going to pick up a napkin holder and slam it into his head.

Mia would probably take the holder out of her paycheck though.

"I can't believe you're sulking. Here, drink this." Mia set a drink down in front of her before sliding into the booth across from her. Bella eyed the drink suspiciously. "What have you done to it?"

"I just put a tid bit of vodka in it," Mia said, blinking at her innocently.

Bella pushed the drink towards Mia. "No thank you. I don't think alcohol and Jacob are a very good combination for me right now."

"How about alcohol and Embry?"

Embry sat down beside Bella and shook her shoulder playfully. "How are you doing today, _girlfriend_?"

Bella gave him a stunned look before turning to face Mia, her mouth opening up to protest.

Mia beat her to the punch. "Okay, first of all, I told this idiot to show up half an hour _after _Jacob got here, not before. Can you not tell time? Second of all—" she started to tick off a list on her fingers, "I know you're going to say that this is a bad idea and that we shouldn't go through with it. But you're wrong. You see, this is, in fact, an awesome idea. Third of all, Jacob is going to _flip his shit. _Forth of all, you love it."

"I do not love it."

Mia gave her a devilish smile. "You will, trust me."

"Trust _us_," Embry added.

Bella frowned at both of them. "That's the thing, I actually _don't _trust you—"

Suddenly Embry jumped up from the booth. "Shit, Jake's here!"

Mia immediately got up and trotted to the front register in order to look like she was doing something, and before Embry bolted out the back door he said, "Okay, I'm going to come back through the front in about twenty minutes and I'll sit next to you, put my arm around you and be all love dovey with you and shit, kay?"

Bella reached out to grab Embry's shirt but missed. "No it is not okay! Embry Call _come back here right now!_" But he was already half way out the back door. Bella slumped back down into the booth, trying not to scream in frustration.

All of her negative feelings seemed to disappear as soon as Jacob walked through the door, however. He was holding an overflowing Taco Bell bag in one hand and a soda in the other. "Hey Bella!" He dropped the food onto the table at the booth Bella was sitting in before pulling her into a hug. He pulled out of the hug way too soon for Bella's liking. "I brought lunch," he mentioned, gesturing at the fast food.

"I could have made you food, asshole!" Mia hollered from the front register, her gaze lingering unhappily on the meal from an outsider. Jacob grinned and waved at her. "Always so sweet and kind Mia! _Also, your food sucks,_" he grumbled the last part under his breath.

Bella raised an eyebrow at him as they both sat down. "Um, you just brought in a bag of tacos that are barely above dog food level, but you hate Mia's home cooked food?"

"Whatever Bells," Jacob said as he cheerfully pulled taco after taco out of the bag. "I'm aware that this stuff is horrible for you, but I swear they lace the meat with crack or something because—" he took an absolutely massive bite out of one of the many tacos now cluttering the table, "_oh muh gud its soooo yummeh._"

"Geez Jake."

Jacob swallowed before smiling at her. "Do you want any of this Bella?"

She shook her head. "Er, no thank you."

He sighed before eyeing all the food on the table. He patted his stomach thoughtfully. "I think I can do it."

"Well don't push yourself too hard."

He swatted a hand at her. "Pssh. Okay, while I'm working on this feast I want you to tell me all about what happened, okay?" His expression grew serious. "Including what happened between you and Cullen. I have to say, I'm curious to know why you guys…you know."

"No it's okay. I would be curious too." She watched him unwrap another taco for a moment before she spoke. "A lot of it I still don't understand myself, if we're being honest."

Jacob nodded. He had paused mid bite and was watching her face instead.

Bella sighed before continuing. "I think it was a mix of me growing up a bit and both of us realizing that our relationship wasn't at the same place it had been when I was eighteen. I realized, after I turned twenty and was halfway through college, that maybe I did want a life for myself. I mean… I don't know. It was confusing."

Jacob had stopped eating altogether now. He seemed to be _very _interested in what she was saying.

"It all came to a head after the end of my third year in college. I went to the graduation ceremony because an older friend of mine was graduating. She was so proud of what she accomplished, but she kept telling me that what she was really looking forward to was what she could accomplish in her future, given all she had achieved in her past. It made me think about what I could have and what I could be if I decided to have a future, or, well, to have a _life. _I mulled over it about a week, but Edward was gone before I could really say anything to him. He knew, I'm sure. I suppose the ultimate test was to see whether or not I'd follow him, given everything I had been thinking of."

Jacob smiled. "I think I can guess whether or not you decided to follow him."

Bella returned his smile. "Your guess would probably be correct."

Jacob slumped back down in his seat, but his eyes never left hers. Bella could tell he was contemplating something. Suddenly he leaned forward and took her hand in his. "Bells, maybe we—"

"Lady Bella of the Moe's Diner!"

_I'm going to kill him._

"Scoot over dear." Embry nudged her arm and, muttering under her breath, Bella moved over and allowed him to sit next to her.

"Embry, what the hell are you doing here?" Jacob snapped.

Embry snorted before tossing his arm across Bella's shoulders. "Just visiting my girl. You know."

Bella opened her mouth to inform Jacob that Embry was crazy and that she was not his girl when she caught sight of Jacob's murderous expression. I murderous expression that was directed right at Embry,

If looks could kill Embry would have been dead on the floor with possibly an axe sticking out of his head.

And to know that that look was because of _her, _was because Jacob was irritated with Embry for either interrupting them or because he had his arm around Bella _who knew, _it was for her. She could have done a happy dance. Instead she ignored the logical part of her brain that was screaming _This is stupid! _and looked up at Embry instead. "Glad to see you," she practically purred.

Jacob looked back and forth between both of them, his expression turning from furious to perplexed. "Wait, so you guys are..."

Embry shrugged. "We've just been hanging out and what not."

Jacob raised an eyebrow at both of them. "I see." He picked up a taco and shoved it in Embry's direction. "Embry, would you like a taco?"

Embry shook his head before pulling Bella in closer. "Why, no thank you Jacob. I'm still stuffed from the delicious grilled cheese sandwich Bella made for me earlier."

Jacob glanced at Bella. "She cooked for you?" he asked with a huff.

"Yes she did. And you know, she also added bacon, which turned a delicious grilled cheese sandwich into a heavenly grilled cheese sandwich. Who knew our Bella could be so inventive in the kitchen?"

Jacob was now frowning at his tacos and Bella could have smacked Embry for making Jacob feel bad.

But then again, wasn't that the point of this whole endeavor?

Jacob sighed and began to put his leftover tacos back into the bag. "I should probably head out."

"But we barely got to see each other!" Bella exclaimed in protest.

"Yeah I know but… Say, why don't we double?"

"An excellent idea my friend," Embry agreed before Bella could say no.

Jacob looked surprised, as if he was expecting them to turn him down. "Oh okay. Yeah. Let's double." He didn't sound the least bit enthusiastic.

"It's a date then. Also, Mia should come along. She can take Quil," Embry suggested.

"Who's Quil?" Mia questioned from the register as Bella, Jacob and Embry stood up from the booth and started to shuffle over to her.

"Just one of our buddies," Jacob answered.

"Oh," Mia said before shaking her head. "I don't really do the whole 'dating' thing right now—"

"It's okay," Jacob interrupted, "Quil doesn't normally go out with girls nowadays."

Mia blinked at them. "So I'm going out on a date with a gay guy?"

"He's more asexual for the time being," Embry snorted. Jacob was doubled over with laughter.

"Awesome," Mia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "When is this date anyway? The only day the diner isn't open late is Sunday, just so you know."

"Sunday it is then," Jacob and Embry said in unison. The both turned and moved to hug Bella goodbye. Upon seeing what Embry was trying to do, Jacob glared at him before shouting a "See ya," to Bella over his shoulder and exiting through the front door.

Bella turned to Embry and Mia. "I'm going to kill you both."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! They put a big ol' smile on my face :D**

**Hope everyone likes this chapter. It's a bit shorter then I was hoping for, but ah well. **

**Enjoy and review!**

* * *

Bella _thought _she looked presentable, but when she let Mia into her apartment at 6 on Sunday evening, she found out she was very, very wrong.

"Girl…what are you…wearing?" Mia asked, her face scrunched up in a look of disgust. Bella frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Clothes," she huffed, causing Mia to roll her eyes.

"Perhaps in 2002 they were," Mia snapped. "Let's take a look in your closet."

"I think I look fine," Bella said as she looked down at her white turtleneck sweater and long khaki skirt. "It's conservative."

Mia had already found her way into Bella's bedroom. "Girl please," she said as she began to examine the contents of Bella's closet. "You look like fucking Hermione Granger." She paused. "Damn, you sure like your plaid don't you?" She yanked out a brown cami, followed by a purple flannel shirt that Renee had gotten for Bella a couple of months ago. "Put those on, then a pair of jeans and some flats or something. Also, burn that skirt."

Bella thrust a hand in Mia's direction. "Okay, you're still in your Moe's t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Why am _I _the one who needs to change outfits?"

"Because I'm going on a date with an asexual guy so I don't really give a shit if my clothes are cute. Besides, my hair looks fantastic," she said as she gestured to her shoulder length coffee colored hair. "Now get into those clothes. I told Embry to pick us up at 6:30."

Grumbling, Bella obeyed.

* * *

"Lookin' good ladies," Embry said as he stepped into Bella's apartment at 6:30 on the dot.

"Yeah, whatever," muttered Mia from the couch. She was searching through the channels on the television lazily. "I still have no idea why I'm coming to begin with."

"To spice things up," Embry answered. He turned to Bella. "So apparently Jacob wants us to go to this like, sports bar place. It's called Levi's or something."

Mia made a squeaking noise from the couch which both Bella and Embry chose to ignore.

"Yeah, I've only been there once. They have just classic American food. Oh, and their mac and cheese is ballin."

"I'm won't be focusing too much on the food Embry," Bella pointed out as she grabbed her purse from the coat rack in her small entryway. "I'll be a little more concerned with Jacob and um…Haley."

"I think you guys should get into a bitch slap fight," Mia suggested as she turned off the t.v and stretched out her arms. "It would make this already boring night exciting to be honest."

* * *

They took Mia's Honda because apparently Bella's truck was too shitty for Mia and Embry to be seen getting out of. Bella fumed in the back seat because of this.

Levi's Sports Bar and Grill was located just a mile outside of Forks, but somehow Bella had kept managing to miss it during the entire time she had lived there. A wood carved grizzly bear holding a beer in one paw and a burger in the other greeted them at the front entrance.

"I hate this place," Mia groaned.

"How would you know, you've never been here before," Embry said.

"As a matter of fact I have," Mia answered softly. Bella was surprised to see that she looked _worried._

Bella! And um, Mia and Embry!" Jacob scooped Bella up into his arms as he greeted them, gave her a little spin and then set her gently back on the ground. They didn't let go of each other's arms and just when their fingers were about to intertwine—

"Hi guys."

Jacob immediately pulled away from her and turned toward Haley, who was wearing a denim skirt and a tank top. Her slim shoulders and arms were exposed and suddenly Bella wished that she herself was wearing daisy dukes, a tube top and hooker heels because then Jacob wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off of _her _instead of this _skanky bitch—_

Her sudden vehemence surprised her, and, knowing she was blushing, she turned and skidded over to Embry who was trying to hide his laughter behind his hand.

"Bella, you have this 'Destroy the girlfriend!' look on your face!"

Bella had no doubt that she did.

A moment later Quil walked up, twirling his car keys around a finger. "Sorry I'm late, had to babysit Claire a little bit longer than I anticipated. You must be Mia." He reached out a hand to Mia, who shook it dully. "Hello," she said lamely.

"You guys, I'm hungry," Haley called. And with that, everyone turned and walked inside Levi's.

Twenty minutes later and their waiter had yet to introduce himself.

"This service _sucks,_" Mia announced, and everyone muttered in agreement. "Bella," she continued, "let this be a learning experience. You pull this bullshit on any of our customers at Moe's and I will fire your ass—"

"Hello everyone, my name is Sebastian and I will be your waiter this evening. I'm terribly sorry for the wait but our cook was caught in a compromising position and—Mia? What the _hell _are you doing here?"

Everyone's head swiveled in Mia's direction. She was eyeing Sebastian with embarrassment, a deep flush forming across her face. "Well, I wasn't s_ure _if you would be here or not and this is where everyone else wanted to go—"

"We had an _agreement_," Sebastian growled as he threw his pen down. It ricocheted off the table and hit Embry in the nose.

"Well _excuse me_ for attempting to have a social life unlike _some _people I know—"

"I need you to get out of this restaurant now!"

Mia had flown from her seat at their table and was now standing right in front of Sebastian and was pointing her finger at his chest. "Why don't _you _pull the stick out of your ass and _do your job_ and serve my friends and I since we are your customers—"

"We had an agreement Mia, I wouldn't come into Moe's and you would stay out of Levi's!" Sebastian shouted.

"That was _four years ago _you prick!"

Jacob had grabbed Bella's cellphone and was quietly filming the whole ordeal.

Suddenly Sebastian reached out and grabbed Mia's arm. She let out a hiss of pain. Embry shot out of his seat like a rocket and Jacob was right on his heels.

Jacob grabbed Mia and pulled her away from Sebastian before she could cause him any damage and Embry yanked Sebastian out the front door by his collar so he could cause _him _some damage.

Haley groaned. "Why do they have to act so irrational? They're not wolves twenty four seven." She got out of her seat and followed Embry, Mia and Jacob out the door.

Bella froze. So she knew that they were wolves then. A bitter disappointment began to set in her stomach. Because if Haley knew that Jacob was a werewolf then…

…this was more serious then she had thought.

By the time Bella and Quil got up and followed everyone else outside, Embry had given Sebastian a black eye and was lecturing him on 'why we don't grab women like that'.

Ten minutes later, after having the manager ask them to leave and politely tell them never to come back to Levi's again, they pulled onto the sandy parking lot next to First Beach.

"Mia, are you sure you don't want me to get ice for your wrist?" Embry asked as they all climbed out of Mia's Honda.

"No. He grabbed my wrist, he didn't snap it in half," she growled. She was still seething. Jacob and Haley walked towards them from Jacob's Rabbit, and now it was Bella's turn to seethe when she saw Haley slip her hand into Jacob's back pocket.

_Skanky, no good, fake, should be __**my **__hand going down Jacob's pants—_

She jumped when Embry wrapped his arm around her waist. She looked up at him and he winked at her. Then, in a flash he bent down and kissed her square on the mouth. Bella was so surprised she forgot to wish it was Jacob kissing her.

Jacob froze mid step, his eyes narrowing as Embry pulled his head away from Bella's. He pushed himself away from Haley and began to walked ahead of everyone.

"Embry!" Bella hissed.

"Aww, be a trooper Bella." He said with a laugh, giving her a pat on the back. "Trust me, you'll thank me."

"Guess what you guys!" Quil was trotting up to them, a victorious smile plastered on his face. He held up two bottles of tequila. "It's officially a party."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yay new chapter! It's a bit longer than the others as well!**

**Thanks so much for reading and please review!**

* * *

"Yep, everyone is shit faced," Quil announced.

Bella, who didn't drink much normally and had already had three shots of tequila in less than thirty minutes, was certainly feeling some sort of a buzz. "Where did you get these shot glasses?" she slurred as she ran her finger along the edge of a shot glass featuring Legolas from the Lord of the Rings.

No one bothered to answer her.

Mia, who was clutching an Aragorn shot glass in one hand and a nearly empty tequila bottle in the other, was attempting to pour herself her fifth shot. She barely managed and sloshed tequila into the sand in the process. She flung the alcohol into her mouth before throwing her arms out beside her and shouting, "You're all lightweight motherfuckers!" She then proceeded to collapse into the sand and try to make a sand angel.

Bella was already sitting in the sand. She stretched her arms over her head and glanced over at Jacob and Haley. They were sitting on the other side of the bonfire, and Bella could see them cuddling next to each other and _talking. _

Why are they talking?

"What was that Bella?" Embry said from next to her. He had had twice as many shots as she had, but somehow he seemed to be functioning a lot better than she was.

I didn't say anything?

Now Embry was laughing. "You've officially lost your brain to mouth filter." He snorted. "This should be interesting"

"No no no," Bella moaned and pushed her hands against his arm. "I just want to know why they're _talking._"

"Are you upset by their talking Ms. Bella?"

"I…no. Yes. Yes. I want to be the one talking to him," she huffed before crossing her arms across her chest.

Embry threw an arm casually around her shoulder and she could feel his laughter raking through his body. "Well Bella, maybe we can hold a conversation, and Jakey Poo will see and get all jealous, and then he'll come over here, shove me to the side, and pound you into the sand. Will that satisfy you?"

"Pound me with what?"

"His Dick of Satisfaction and Delight, of course."

"EMBRY EWWW."

Embry proceeded to tickle her while chanting, "You know you want it," over and over. Bella fell over onto the sand, laughing and feebly trying to push Embry's tickling fingers away from her.

"What's so funny?" Jacob asked as he slowly lowered himself into the sand next to the pair.

"Your Dick of Delight and Something Something!" Bella blurted out before collapsing into another fit of giggles.

Jacob blinked at her in horror. "My wha-?"

Now Embry had fallen to _his _side, howling with laughter.

"Oh my god, what tickled their funny bone?" Mia had pulled herself out of the sand and was now regarding them on swaying feet, the bottle of tequila still in her hand. She paused for a moment and stared at the fire before bursting into song. _"And it burns, burns, burnsss! The ring of fire!"_

"I'm just gonna take that from you real quick," Jacob said as he snatched the bottle from her hand. Mia didn't seem to notice. She turned and toppled another couple of feet backwards before slumping down into the sand again.

"Who knew Mia was such a lightweight?" Jacob remarked as he turned towards Embry and Bella who were now starting to somewhat compose themselves.

"Hahaha, Johnny Cash!_ We got married in a feverrrr!"_ Bella sang, terribly out of tune.

"Um, I got news for you; this girl can't hold her liquor either. And she's had _less _then Mia has had," Embry said as he started to brush some of the sand off of his shirt.

Bella stood to her feet sloppily, her hands reaching out and snatching the tequila away from Jacob. "You guys are _stupid._" She took a gulp straight from the bottle. "I can handle so much more then you two booger-brains!" Another sip. "Yeah!" Sip.

"Jacob, she just used 'booger-brains' as an insult. She's fucking _done_."

"Okay Bells," Jacob took the bottle back from her and put a hand on her waist in order to steady her. "You should probably not have anymore, kay?"

Bella nodded before closing her eyes and twirling away from him, her hands and fingers spread out, as if she was trying to dance. Jacob watched her for a moment with raised eyebrows before handing the bottle to Embry. "Guard this will you?"

"With pleasure," Embry said with a grin like a Cheshire cat.

Bella continued to teeter and totter all over the place, humming some tune and moving her arms like someone from the ballet. She stumbled backwards toward the fire, and Jacob quickly snatched her up by the waist and pulled her a few feet away. "Let's not fall into the fire Bells."

She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "You're like a fire anyway," she mumbled. His arms moved to wrap around her naturally, but he hesitated, his eyes glancing over at Hayley who was curled up against a piece of drift wood, fast asleep. With a sigh of resolve he put his hands in what he deemed was a safe area: her mid back.

"How come she knows?" Bella asked, her voice muffled by his chest.

"How come who knows what Bells?" Jacob answered. He seemed to be fighting the natural urge to rest his head atop of hers.

"How come Haley knows you're a wolf?"

"Oh, that." His hands had already sunk to her lower back, right at the above-back-pocket-level. This was _so _in the no-no territory. But damnit, he was a little drunk too. "Um, yeah. That was an accident. She saw me in wolf form one time when I was by her house; it was really late at night. She's a little rash, so she immediately went for her dad's rifle in order to shoot me, so I phased in front of her to, you know, keep from getting shot."

Bella shook her head against his chest. "But you can survive getting shot."

"Well, it sort of sucks to get shot either way. Just sayin'."

"Jacob…"

"Hmm?"

"Jacob."

"Yes Bells…"

"I don't like her."

"_Bella—_"

"She's a hussy."

Jacob snorted in spite of himself. "Come on Bells, you don't even know her."

"She gives me mean looks!"

"Okay, no, she doesn't. And why do you care Bella? You're dating Embry."

Bella pulled back from him slightly. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, as if she was in deep thought about something.

_I really really really need—_

"No nooo. I want Jake's Dick of Delight." She slumped back onto his chest and placed sloppy kisses on whatever part of Jacob's skin her lips happened to be touching.

"Okay, Bells, honey, you're really drunk right now—"

She somehow managed to stand on her tip toes and kiss his neck and jaw, accidently nipping at him with her teeth in her drunkenness. Jacob's eyes all but rolled into the back of his head.

"No! Shit, shit, Mia! Put your fucking shirt back on!"

"But I'm hot!" Mia had pulled her Moe's shirt over her head and was working on the zipper to her jean shorts. Quil, who had been sitting back this whole time reading a book, was watching her strip with wide eyes. Embry was throwing irritated glances at his direction.

"Yes, you're hot. Now keep your clothes on. No! _Put your pants back on!"_

Bella, whose lips were lingering at the curve where Jacob's neck met his shoulder, suddenly didn't feel too good. She pulled away from Jacob and flopped down onto the sand on her knees and, with a groan, started puking.

Jacob busied himself with pulling her hair away from her face.

* * *

The sun woke Bella up the next morning. The sun and a persistently loud seagull.

"Shut up," she mumbled, swatting in the direction the noise was coming from and accidently smacking Jacob in the face. He moaned and starting to wiggle away from her, and Bella, with a gulp, realized that she had fallen asleep next to Jacob in the sand, by a bonfire, on the beach.

She vaguely remembered singing Johnny Cash and—

_Oh god, is that…is that my own vomit?_

"Bells, what time is it?" Jacob said sleepily as he sat up beside her.

"I'm not sure," she admitted truthfully. "I don't remember…much." She glanced around her. Embry was sprawled out in the sand, snoring like a bear with his mouth hanging open. Mia was curled up under what seemed to be Embry's shirt, her own shirt and shorts spread out beside her. Quil was also sleeping, but he had placed his book over his eyes in order to keep the sun out of them. Haley was nowhere to be found.

Jacob noticed this about the same time Bella did. "Shit, Haley's gone." He stood up immediately and began to knock the sand off of his clothes. "Crap crap crap, I bet she took the Rabbit too. My keys aren't in my pocket."

Bella couldn't bring herself to feel pleased by this. Her head was aching and she felt thirsty. "Jake," she muttered, reaching up and grabbing his hand. "Maybe she woke up and decided to go back to her house or something."

Jacob gently pulled his hand out of hers. "Bells, considering what position we just woke up in, I don't think that's the case." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll call you later, okay?" Then he turned around and sprinted up the small hill that lead to the beach parking lot.

Bella watching him go with a sense of longing and _slight _irritation. Longing, because apparently she and Jacob had fallen asleep next to each other, and irritation because she couldn't remember a damn thing.

She turned around and reached out to nudge Mia awake when Mia's phone rang.

"_Pokemon! Gotta catch-em all! It's you and me, I know it's my destiny! Pokemon! Ooh, you're my best friend in a world we must defend-!"_

"What the fuck do you want?" Mia's head was poking out of Embry's shirt, her phone to her ear. "No, it's your turn to open the diner today… You're _what? _You're telling me this now?...But the diner was supposed to open fifteen minutes ago!..._Oh shit!_" She flipped her phone shut and flung Embry's shirt off of her.

"Oh my god, why the hell am I in my skivvies?" She grabbed her shirt and shorts and flung them on and tossed Embry's shirt back over to him, effectively waking him up.

"Wha…what's happening?" He moaned as Mia kicked up sand around him.

"The diner was supposed to open fifteen minutes ago, and my opener decided he was sick _now _and no one is at the diner to open it!"

"Oh okay," Embry said, rolling back onto his side. "Have fun." Mia leaned down and smacked him across the head. "You! Come and help me!" Her eyes found Bella. "You too!"

* * *

By the time they reached the diner twenty minutes later, only two regular customers were standing at the door. Mia apologized profusely as she unlocked the door, letting the customers in and proclaiming that their meals that day would be on the house.

"I don't really want to go into work today," Bella complained as she climbed out of Mia's car.

"Oh shut up, at least you're getting paid for it. Apparently I've been recruited."

"Yeah well, I have a hangover from last night and nothing to show for it. I woke up next to Jake and I can't remember anything."

Embry handed Bella her phone and winked at her. "I wouldn't say you have nothing to show for it. Check out the videos."

"I am, it's just the one were Mia is screaming at that guy, Sebastian." She laughed in spite of herself. This video _needed _to be uploaded to the internet.

"No Bella, the other one."

"There is no other—" She froze in mid sentence. It was a shot of her and Jacob doing some sort of swaying-in-place movement, dancing perhaps? She was placing messy kisses on his neck and Jacob seemed to be _enjoying it_ and his hands were moving further and further down her backside. He leaned his head down, his lips hovering above hers—

The camera swiveled to a shot of Mia pulling off her Moe's t-shirt_. "No! Shit, shit, Mia!"_

Bella exited out of the video and looked up at Embry with wide eyes. "He was about to—"

"Yep. I told you that you would thank me."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I've been on vacation for the last week and a half, so I didn't have any time to write. I also am going to apologize for the filler-ness of this chapter. It's not my best but I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

**Thank you for reading and please review and let me know what you think!**

* * *

"So wait, he almost kissed you?" Mia asked from behind the counter. She was rummaging through the employee refrigerator in search for something.

"According to the video that is currently saved to my phone, yes." Bella pulled herself up onto the barstool and slowly sipped on a glass of ice water. The Advil she had taken was finally starting to dull her hangover headache a bit, but still, she didn't exactly feel like handling customers for the rest of the day.

For the time being, however, there were none in the diner.

"You still sound hungover," Mia mentioned as she straightened up, having discovered whatever she was looking for in the fridge.

"I took some medicine but I still feel like crap," Bella said, trying not to groan.

"Do what I do," Mia said as she opened her bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade, "fix your hangover with more alcohol."

Embry, who had been sweeping the floor and quietly listening in on their conversation, doubled over with laughter. Mia's eyes narrowed in his direction. "And what is so funny?"

"Oh _come on! _Mike's Lemonade? For real? _That's _what you consider alcohol?" He eyed the bottle and snorted with laughter, his hand patting his knee.

"Excuse you," Mia bit out, her tone acidic, "but this shit is motherfucking delicious and refreshing." She opened the bottle and took a swig before making an 'ahh' noise. "And now that you've insulted it you can't have any."

Embry barked out another laugh. "Fine by me. Also, you're totally paying me for working for you today."

"Except not."

"Um, how about yes? I like you and all but no, I don't work for free."

"I'll give you free food for the next week."

"Done."

Bella rolled her eyes as Mia and Embry went back to work, their problem resolved.

Twenty seven minutes later Bella, who had had another glass of ice water and another Advil, was feeling a little bit better. No more customers had come in the diner, which didn't seem to surprise Mia. Apparently Mondays were slow. She and Embry were sitting across from each other in a booth, engaged in an epic game of War. Mia smirked when her Ace snatched up Embry's King.

"Fuck you," he grumbled.

"Don't be bitter."

Bella slid into the booth beside Embry, perfectly content to watch the two of them duke it out for the rest of the afternoon.

The front door chimed as someone came inside. "Ha, figures there's no one here since you're the one who's running the place."

Mia's eyes narrowed. "Sebastian," she seethed. She tossed her handful of cards down onto the table and glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

Sebastian walked slowly up to the booth the three of them were seated at. He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned down at Mia. Embry, who was already growing agitated, growled out, "What the fuck do you want? Do we need a repeat of last night?" His eyes settled pointedly on Sebastian's black eye.

Sebastian shushed Embry before settling his gaze back onto Mia. He sucked in a deep breath. "So, I called mom last night after our little catastrophe."

Mia bristled. "You _what?_"

"You heard me. I. Called. Mom."

"I realize your brain is embarrassingly small, _but why the hell did you call mom?_"

"Because she needed to know!"

"Oh please! You always go crying to mom whenever things don't go your way!"

"You marched into my restaurant unannounced and then sent your boyfriend to attack me—"

Mia slammed her fists onto the table. "Whoa whoa! First of all, it wasn't my idea to go to your shitty restaurant in the first place! Second of all, Embry and I are not dating! Third of all, you're a fucking idiot! How the fuck are we related?"

Sebastian immediately rounded on Embry. "You hit my face and you're not even dating her?"

"Shut up," Embry ground out. Bella realized with alarm that he was starting to violently shake. "Calm down," she said quietly, pushing Mia's bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade in his direction. "Drink something."

Embry grabbed onto the drink and drank the rest of it in one gulp. He pulled away and stared down at the bottle in his hand reproachfully. "Shit, this really is delicious…"

Mia was too focused on Sebastian to notice their exchange. "I hate you so much right now. I'll probably get a call from mom tonight lecturing me on how to act around you. You're such a prick."

Sebastian huffed before slumping down into the seat next to her. "I hate you too," he snapped back.

"Just wondering, how are you two related?" Bella asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Twins," Mia and Sebastian answered in unison.

After looking back and forth between the two for a moment, Bella realized it actually made sense. They had the same tousled brown hair, though Sebastian's had a lot of unneeded gel streaked through his, and the same angry hazel eyes that were currently glowering at each other. And, now that Bella could really look at the two of them side by side, she noticed they were both sporting the same infuriated expression. It was really quite comical.

Bella's giggling spurned Embry to bark out a laugh. The twins turned their mutual glares onto them.

"What are you laughing about this time, Call?" Mia snapped.

"I'm laughing at your face. His too." He gestured to Sebastian with his head.

"That's it!" Sebastian launched himself out of the booth and toward the counter. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'm calling mom and letting her know that you're running this place into the ground with shitty food and shitty service that insult me and give too much lip."

Mia scrambled after him, grabbed his phone and sent it rocketing across the room. A massive fight ensued, complete with death threats, breaking plates, and squirting ketchup. Bella and Embry scooted out of the diner for their own safety as Mia and Sebastian had started throwing silverware at each other.

Bella and Embry climbed up into the bed of Bella's truck and sat down. Bella pulled out her phone and brought up the video that Embry had taken the night before.

"I can't believe he almost kissed me. And I can't believe that I don't remember it."

Embry shrugged. "I'm sure this situation will rise up again sooner or later. I mean, it's Jacob and you're Bella. Shit always seems to go down with you too."

"I doubt it," Bella said, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her knees. "Haley is really pretty and she and Jake have a lot in common. Compared to me she's—"

"If you say one word about how she's 'prettier then you' then I will take your cell phone and shove it up your ass. You will not enjoy it."

"Yeah, but you have to admit, she _is _really pretty—"

"Okay, let me enlighten you," Embry interjected once again, "you're a very attractive lady Bella. Let me put it this way, Edward Cullen would not have stalked you if you were a fattie with a manface who just so happened to have an excellent personality."

Bella blushed before grumbling something incoherent in response.

Embry smirked at this. "So yeah, you're a hot mama. Embrace it."

"Bella's a hot whata?" Jacob peered over the side of the truck and raised his eyebrows at the two of them. Embry's hand immediately went to Bella's knee, which did not go unnoticed by Jacob.

"I was just telling Bella here that she didn't need to have such a low opinion of herself because she's quite stunning," Embry explained. He paused. "Isn't she Jacob?" he continued, his voice taking on a taunting edge.

Jacob instantly appraised Bella's figure, his eyes roaming over her face, hair, bare legs and shabby work uniform. Bella shrunk slightly under his penetrating gaze. Jacob's face went stony before he frowned at his shoes. "Yeah, she is."

An awkward moment passed between the three of them. "So," Bella piped up, determined to steer the conversation onto Jacob. "What are you doing her Jake? Did you come to grab some lunch? I'm warning you though, it's a war zone in there."

Jacob half smiled. "Whose balls are Mia kicking this time?"

"Sebastian's," Bella answered.

Jacob's eyes widened. "And you're leaving her in there alone with that creep?"

Embry snorted. "They're actually twins, and when we walked out Mia was brandishing a pizza cutter at him so…pretty sure she's good to go."

"Like Taco Bell," Jacob finished, nodding. He cleared his throat before reaching up to rub the back of neck. He jerked his thumb in the direction of the grungy hardware store across the street. "Was looking at some of the new tools that just came out when I decided to come over here and say hello." His hands fell back down to his side. "Guess things are kind of crazy though."

The door to the diner burst open and Mia came stomping out looking livid and clutching a paper towel to her hand. Sebastian was right on her heels looking horrified.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god I am so sorry Mia! Is it really bad? Is it bleeding? Can I see it? Wait no, I might throw up. But are you okay? I'm SO sorry—"

"You stabbed my hand with a _fucking fork!_" Mia shrieked. Embry hopped out of the bed of the truck and advanced quickly towards Sebastian, who yelped when he saw him approaching.

"I told you I didn't mean to! I thought you would move out of my way! That's what intelligent people do! And besides you had a butcher's—Oh god! Please don't hurt me man!" Embry had grabbed Sebastian up by his collar and was hauling him away from Mia.

Bella, who had climbed out of her truck after Embry, made her way to Mia and pulled up the paper towel to see—

-the tiniest scratch. Ever.

"Embry," Bella called out nonchalantly. "Don't kill him. Look." She held Mia's hand up in their direction. "He barely nicked her."

Embry reluctantly let go of Mia's twin. "Fine. But can you two seriously stop getting into physical confrontations? At this rate I'm going to have to beat this guy up eventually…"

"Or you can, you know, be peaceful and mind your own business," Sebastian muttered as he took a few steps away from Embry. "Since she's not your girlfriend and all."

"Well no…" Embry's mouth opened and closed a few times before he huffed and turned his head away.

Sebastian threw his hands up in exasperation. "You know what? I'll just leave now." He got into his car and peeled out of the parking lot without a backwards glance in his sister's direction.

During the commotion Jacob had come to stand beside Bella. He cleared his throat again. "Um, can I maybe get a back story?" he asked Mia.

"He's just my idiot twin brother who's pissed off that our grandfather left me the diner and not him," Mia said with irritation. "He's been a little bitch about it ever since. And he calls our mom every five seconds in order to complain about something he thinks I'm doing wrong with the diner. Like last week, he called and told her that the outside of this place looks like shit because it's in need of a paint job. I told him to go fuck himself and that if he thought the place needed to be painted then he could take his skinny ass and do it his damn self."

"He had a point though, this place could use a fresh coat of paint," Jacob pointed out.

"Who asked you?" Mia spat. She crossed her arms over her chest was about to send Jacob a severe look when a light bulb seemed to go off over her head. "Hey Black, you looking for work?"

"No offence Mia, but the only time I'd ever find myself working for you would be in a terrible, terrible nightmare—"

"No, you idiot, I don't want you to come work for me full time, I want you to paint my diner."

Jacob shook his head. "But see, I really don't want to do that."

"Ten dollars an hour AND I'll provide your meals."

Jacob slowly took in a breath. He seemed to be considering the offer when he shook his head again. "You know, I just don't think—"

"And Bella will help you do it."

"I will?" Bella squeaked.

A wicked smile was forming across Mia's lips. "Yep. I'm sure Jacob would _love _to spend the day painting with you."

Bella looked up at Jacob and gave him a small smile, which he returned.

Jacob sighed. "You know what? Why the hell not?" He looked back down at Bella, his expression unreadable. "This could be fun."


	7. Chapter 7

Two days later Bella found herself pulling into the diner an hour before opening. She hopped out of her truck and fiddled with her v-neck t-shirt. The air was mildly humid, but Bella knew that after spending a few hours outside her shirt would probably be sticking to her back.

How attractive.

Mia and Embry walked out of the diner to greet her, beers in both of their hands.

"Little early, don't you think?" Bella said, gesturing to their bottles.

Both of them shrugged and simply smirked at her.

"Sometimes I like a beer to kick off my morning," Mia said before starting to giggle. Embry glanced down at her before starting to laugh himself and Bella realized that they seemed to be sharing an inside joke. She frowned.

"Honestly, what's with you two this morning?" She walked past them and into the diner and stopped when she saw the cluttered mess on the floor. Two sleeping bags and a heap of blankets were in the middle of the diner, surrounded by candy wrappers, beer cans, a laptop, and Superbad on DVD, the unrated version.

"What did you guys do last night?" Bella asked slowly. She hadn't worked the closing shift yesterday but she clearly remembered both Lenny and Mia bitching about closing, respectively. Apparently Embry had shown up after she had gone home for the day.

Mia appeared next to her. "Oh, he just came over to do some plotting with me, the usual."

"And this turned into an impromptu sleepover?"

"Well, he mentioned he had never seen Superbad, which in my book is a crime."

Embry appeared on Bella's other side. "It wasn't that great, if we're being honest."

Mia made a 'hmpf' sound from Bella's other side. "So I have a girl boner for Seth Rogen as a cop, sue me."

"You guys threw a sleepover and didn't invite me? I am deeply, deeply wounded by this." Jacob's voice made the three of them jump, and when Bella turned around Jacob was standing in the diner's entryway, waving a paintbrush at her. "I thought we were going to do some painting today?"

* * *

"It's getting hot," Bella complained as she swiped her paint roller along the outer rim of the diner.

"Would you like some cheese with your whine?" Jacob, who was tall enough to reach the top of the diner's edge with just a long handled paint roller, grinned at her around his outstretched arms.

Bella rolled her eyes and winced as she continued to roll her own paint brush roller along the outer rim. Her arms were starting to really ache from the labor, and as they had been at this for nearly four hours, Bella thought that their lunch hour was approaching quickly. She looked up at Jacob to see if his thoughts were going in the same direction as hers, but he continued to paint as non-phased by the work and heat as ever.

Bella sighed before lowering her roller to the tray of white paint sitting on the ground. She eyed the unopened paint can next to it. "Hey, do you know why Mia gave us blue paint?"

She saw Jacob's shoulders shrug. "I think she wants me to paint the edging along her windows."

"Oh."

Jacob bent down to dip his roller into his own tray of paint. "You do realize that Embry is still in there? Even though he doesn't actually work at this diner. And he's choosing to spend time with Mia, who is not his girlfriend, over you, his actual girlfriend." He paused before narrowing his eyes at the wall. "Supposedly."

Bella gulped and immediately turned back to her painting. She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and prayed that Jacob wouldn't notice.

Okay, it was true that Mia and Embry had obviously become friends, but at the same time, Bella didn't see any signs that they were anything more than friends…

Okay, no. That was a lie. The more she thought about it, the more obvious it became. Embry definitely had the hots for Mia, probably since before they even saw each other at that party, if Bella was being honest with herself. Showing up at the diner all the time, attempting to beat up Sebastian multiple times, pretending to date Bella only because Mia had asked him to, and making her keep her clothes on at the drunken bonfire (what drunk guy asks an attractive girl to keep her clothes on, really…).

Embry had also painted a penis on Mia's diner, a sure fire way to get her attention.

"Jake? Do you know why someone dared Embry to paint a, um, penis on Mia's diner?"

Jacob stopped painting so he could turn around a frown at her. "No one dared Embry to do that, he just did it for shits and giggles." A smile broke out across his face before he could stop himself. "The pictures were hilarious though, not gonna lie. The thing he drew on this diner was an absolute _monster_."

Bella furrowed her eyebrows as she continued to paint. "But then, why did he tell Mia that he did it on a dare?"

She heard Jacob chuckle. "Because Mia would have removed his dick herself if he didn't have some kind of cover. Honestly though, that took some balls on his part, sneaking up here and drawing that sucker. Although a part of me wishes she _had _caught him. And that there would have been a video."

They continued painting for a couple of minutes in a comfortable silence. Finally she heard Jacob put down his paint roller and take a step toward her. "Bella, if you ever feel suspicious, like you think anything is going on between them _at all,_ I want you to come to me, okay? It's not that I don't like Mia, and of course Embry is my friend, but I just don't…I just couldn't let him…" he trailed off and let the rest of his unspoken sentence hang in the air.

Bella leaned her roller against the wall before squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't think anything is going on between them," she lied. "But thanks for trying to look out for me Jake." She opened her eyes. Jacob had moved another step closer to her while her eyes had been closed and was looking down at her. She was surprised at the sincerity in his gaze. He put his hand on her slim shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If you say so, Bells." Then he let go and turned back to his work.

Bella tried to shake away the bundle of nerves and energy she had felt when Jacob had touched her. "I'm going to go inside and get something to drink. Do you want me to bring out your lunch for you?" She saw Jacob nod.

* * *

"He _knows!_"

Mia rolled her eyes as she handed Bella a glass of lemonade. "He doesn't know Bella, calm the fuck down."

Bella turned to Embry who was leaning up against the front counter. "Well, he's suspicious at the very least. Especially of _you_." She prodded a finger into Embry's chest. "He thinks there's something going on between you two."

Both Mia and Embry stiffened.

"I wouldn't know why he'd think that," Mia said sharply.

Embry looked at her with a hurt expression. "You wouldn't?"

Mia looked like she wanted to hit him. "No! You're supposed to be into _Bella_. For the time being."

"For the time being," Embry repeated.

"Yes, Call." She shoved two brown paper bags in Bella's direction. "Here, you and Jacob should eat your lunches now. In the mean time I'm going to think of something Embry can say that can provide some sort of damage control." She turned towards Embry, a serious expression on her face. "We might need to have you pull off an ass or a boob grab of some sort in order to throw Jacob off."

Bella started to vigorously shake her head, but Embry was nodding and stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Well, if that's what you think should go down—"

Bella had bolted out of the backdoor before should could hear any more of their scheming.

Jacob had just pulled the lid off the bucket of blue paint before he spotted Bella walking around the corner. Bella placed their lunches down onto the ground on top of a blanket that they had set up in case they needed to sit down for a moment.

"So, what's for lunch?" Jacob asked. He was still crouched over the can, his hand hovering over the wet paint. Bella slowly sauntered in his direction and hoped he didn't figure out what she was about to do.

"I think Mia flipped a couple of burgers for us."

"Awesome," Jacob said just as his stomach growled.

In a movement that was surprising and quick, especially for Bella, she had flung herself into a crouch right beside him and affectively plunged both of their hands into the blue paint. Then, before Jacob could fully register what had just happened, she grabbed onto his shoulder and quickly pulled away, leaving a small handprint on his shirt. He stared up at her, shock written across his face. He then dipped his hand back into the paint and flung some up her, effectively splashing her neck and the collar of her v-neck.

A mini paint war ensued, and after a moment each of them had little splatters of blue paint all over their clothes. Bella backed away in order to lunge for a handful of white paint as Jacob dipped his hand back in the blue paint can. She turned back towards him with her paint coated hands held out in an attempt to get even more paint on him when she stumbled forward.

Because Jacob was Jacob, he immediately rose from his crouching position and held out his hands in order to steady her, which he successfully managed to do.

They both froze after it happened. Jacob stood up to his full height before slowly putting his hands behind his back. Bella had felt it happen, of course. Her body was still tingling because of it. She slowly looked down at her shirt.

There were now two very large hand prints across her breasts where he had steadied her.

"Um…" Jacob cleared his throat. "Um…"

Bella slowly pulled her gaze from her shirt back up to Jacob's face, which was considerably red. "You got paint on my…boobs."

"Oh my god Bella I am so sorry that is _not_ the area that I was aiming for," he reached up and ran a hand through his hair and then paused when he realized there was still paint on his hands. He ignored the fact that there were now blue streaks in his hair and continued. "You were falling…and they were just sort of there…"

"It's no big deal. Don't worry about it, I mean, it was an accident."

Jacob had become very fascinated with his feet as couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. "Sorry Bells," he mumbled," for accidentally feeling you up."

"Okay, here's some lemonade for you two and—WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? WHY IS THERE BLUE PAINT ALL OVER THE OUTSIDE OF MY DINER?"

Bella turned around and opened her mouth to apologize for her and Jacob's paint fight when—

Embry and Mia were openly gaping at Bella's chest. Then slowly and at exactly the same moment their heads turned towards Jacob, their mouths slightly ajar. "Oh shit Jake…you beat me to it," Embry said, his voice quivering from trying not to laugh.

At that moment the worst possible thing ever happened. A car that Bella didn't recognize pulled into the parking lot, but Jacob groaned. The car parked and Haley climbed out of it, a pack of sodas clutched under one arm. She made her way to them and everyone stood there and quietly watched her come. It was like the calm before the storm.

She made it to Jacob first and kissed him on the mouth before turning towards everyone else. Her eyes fell on Bella's chest and she started laughing before she saw the paint on Jacob's hands and made the connection.

Her expression turned stormy. "Really?" She seethed. "Right under my nose? God, what is wrong with you?" She let the sodas drop at his feet before turning around and marching back to her car.

Jacob started after her without a look back at anyone. "Wait up Haley, it isn't what you think—"

Bella didn't bother to listen to the shouting match they started to have out in the parking lot. Instead, she walked into the diner with both Embry and Mia on her heels.

"Cheer up Bella, I mean he did grab your tits."

"Not now Embry," Bella said with dejection as she continued on into the bathroom in order to scrub some of the paint off of her neck. Mia and Embry stood beside each other and watched the bathroom door swing shut behind her.

"You know," Embry said, his eyes not leaving the bathroom door, "I'm sure some rather interesting things will go down tonight in La Push involving Jacob and Haley. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we be sneaky little bitches and spy on our friend and his twit of a girlfriend?"

"Exactly."

* * *

Screaming and a continuous pounding on her apartment door woke Bella up at 1:30 in the morning. She scrambled out of her bed and down the hallway, attempting to pull on her bathrobe in the process. As soon as she opened the door a hysterical Mia burst into the room.

"Bella! I-I don't know what happened!"

The panic in Mia's voice scared Bella. "What's going on Mia? What happened?"

Mia's voice was cracked and shaking. "I can't call 911 because they'll throw me into an asylum! I think I accidentally did shrooms or something because I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW."

"_What's going on Mia? What happened?"_

Mia leaned against the wall and bit her lip. Her eyes were wide and filled with terror and she was trembling all over. "You'll think I'm crazy. I mean…I kind of am but…"

"Mia. What. The. Hell. Happened?"

Mia turned her head away from Bella's and choked out, "I saw Embry turn into a wolf."

* * *

**A/N: Thought I'd add some drama into this otherwise lighthearted story :D.**

**Anyway, the reason why the author's note is at the end of the chapter this time is because I want to ask for everyone's opinion. I am greatly considering having the next chapter be entirely from Mia's first person point of view. Obviously she would be able to explain things to Bella (and to us) a lot better if we see everything she experienced directly.**

**However, I know certain readers don't like it when stories randomly switch POV's and tenses, which is why I'm asking you all if you would want to see this done or not. Originally I was just going to do an outtake of this, but I think it might be more interesting to make her experience the actual chapter.**

**Let me know what you think and thank you so much for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: First, sorry that this chapter wasn't up any sooner. I discovered the wonders of Netflix (don't ask why it took me so long) and was thoroughly distracted.**

**I really appreciated everyone's feedback last chapter concerning whether or not I should do Mia's POV. Since everyone gave me mixed opinions, here's what I have decided to do. This chapter will read like all the other chapters have, however, in the next couple of days I will be posting Mia's outtake where you can find out what exactly happened to her through her eyes. That way everyone who was enthusiastic about reading her side of the story will get to while everyone who wasn't so enthusiastic can skip it if they wish.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading and feedback is highly appreciated!**

* * *

It took all of Bella's self control not to let the panic sink into her voice when she said, "Um, do you want a cup of tea?"

Mia blinked up at her from Bella's couch. "No. I'll just throw it up." Then she groaned and placed her head between her knees.

Bella headed into the kitchen to make her some anyway. She placed the kettle on the stove and grabbed up her phone, immediately dialing Jacob's number.

"Jacob, I think we have a situation on our hands—"

"Bring Mia down to Sam's," Jacob's detached sounding voice cut her off. "We have to explain things to her. It's not like we can erase her memory or anything."

Bella peaked out into the living room where Mia had curled up into a fetal position. "Do you think that's such a good idea? Maybe I can convince her she's on acid or something—"

"No Bella. Bring her to Sam's." Jacob didn't sound amused. He sounded tired and very irritated.

"Jake, are you alri—"

"I'm fucking fine. It just sucks to find out your best friend is a liar, that's all."

Then he hung up.

Bella slowly placed her phone back down onto her shabby kitchen counter.

Did he…

Did he mean _her?_

What if Jacob had found out that she and Embry weren't actually dating? That it was all just a front so that Jacob could fall in love with Bella again? That it was just a stupid, selfish plan that a few college kids came up with?

He _knew._

There was just no way around it.

And now he probably hated her.

The ringing phone made Bella jump. She answered it without bothering to glance at the caller i.d.

"Bella, its Sam. If you could please bring Mia down to mine and Emily's place as soon as possible that would be, er, really helpful."

Bella suddenly felt ashamed for thinking about Jacob and not her terrified friend in the next room. "Yes, of course. We'll be there in about twenty minutes, give or take."

"Good."

Bella placed the phone back onto the kitchen counter for a second time before walking into the living room.

Mia was gone, but before Bella could get too worked up over her disappearance she found her in the bathroom, throwing her guts up.

* * *

"I don't understand, whose Sam and why are we heading into La Push at this hour?"

"I told you, they're going to help you understand what you saw."

"I saw Embry turn into a huge ass wolf, what's so complicated about that? He turns into a wolf. Hahaha."

Bella risked looking away from the road in order to catch a glimpse at Mia's expression. The girl was in hysterics.

"I should turn Embry into the US government and make a shit ton of money. Then I could retire early and give the diner to my idiot of a brother."

Bella sighed. "Mia, I don't think you're thinking clearly."

"I'm crystal-fucking-clear, thank you. You know, if Embry can turn into a wolf then maybe there's other crazy shit out there. For example, if I threw you into the ocean would you sprout fins, a tail, and a seashell bra Ariel-style? If everyone got together and started clapping their hands, chanting "I do believe in fairies!" would fucking Tinkerbell pop out of my closet? Is Thumbelina hiding in my rose bush? Do I need to start gearing up for the zombie apocalypse? Where the fuck is my letter to Hogwarts?"

"MIA. CALM DOWN." Both Mia and Bella jumped at the loudness of Bella's voice.

"Right," Bella mumbled, pausing to clear her throat. "You're just a little delusional because of what you saw. But you have to understand, there are some things in this world that are…sort of beyond what's normal."

"Yes. Embry turning into a gigantic wolf is a bit beyond the normal. Thank you so much for clearing that up for me Bella."

Bella nearly cried with relief when they finally pulled into Sam's driveway. After parking her truck and helping Mia out of the passenger's seat they both began to walk up the path leading to the front door.

The door opened before they could knock, and Emily's warm and smiling face greeted them.

"Hi Bella. And you must be Mia. You've had quite a night."

Mia grunted in response before shouldering her way past Emily and toward the small couch in Emily's tiny living room. She slumped down with a groan and began to slowly rub her temples. "I have a headache. I can't wait for this night to be over."

"That's understandable." Sam Uley walked into the room and sat down in a cushy armchair across from Mia. "Could you tell me exactly what you saw?"

Mia glanced up at Bella, who was surprised to see the young woman looking up at her with a desire for support and encouragement. As much as Mia had ranted and raved in the car, she was truly upset. Bella sat down on the couch next to her, took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Mia didn't pull away.

She opened her mouth to start telling her story when both Jacob and Embry trudged into the room. She froze before leaning away from them. Bella couldn't really blame Mia for wanting to put as much distance as possible between her and the boys, but her heart still broke when she saw the look of hurt on Embry's face and the look of accusation on Jacob's.

"They were fighting. Embry started to just…convulse or something. And then he turned into a wolf. There you have it." Mia continued to lean away from Jacob and Embry and she wouldn't lift her head to look at either of them. Instead she stared unhappily at the carpet.

"So Jacob didn't turn into a wolf?" Bella asked, unable to stop herself. She peeked up at Jacob through her eyelashes, only to find him slowly shaking his head.

"I've stopped phasing," he said quietly.

Bella felt her mouth fall open. "What? When was this? And how did you-?"

"Patience and control. And I did it because it was a personal decision. Besides, I can't really trust anyone these days ," he turned, shoved past Embry, and walked out of the house.

"Oh my god I am so confused," Mia moaned. But it was all Bella could do to not get up and go after Jacob. Sam seemed to have picked up on her thoughts.

"Go on Bella, Embry and I will explain everything to her."

As Bella stood up and began to head out the door she heard Sam begin to explain the histories of the Quileute tribe to Mia.

* * *

"Jacob, wait up!"

He barely slowed down his pace in order for Bella to catch up with him.

"What is it?" he snapped.

"Why didn't you tell me that you had stopped phasing?"

He stopped and looked down at her with a hard expression. "Why _would_ I tell you? You haven't exactly been around."

Bella felt like she had been slapped in the face. But really, it was a slap that she deserved. She lowered her head and nodded. "I know I haven't been here very much these past couple of years but…I care about you Jacob. And for you to not tell me about something as major as you not phasing well, I guess it just came as a bit of a shock, that's all."

"Don't beat yourself up over it Bella. I was going to tell you, I just hadn't found the right moment," he said softly. Before she could say anything else she was being pulled against his chest. He rested his head atop of hers and sighed with contentment.

"I'm sorry about everything that happened tonight Bells. I'm sorry your crazy friend had to find out about us like this, and I'm sorry I have a douche bag liar for a best friend."

"What?"

He sighed before beginning to run a finger through her hair. "I caught Embry cheating on you tonight. I know that you two weren't together for very long but that's just not cool. I mean, he knew how I felt and he...he had the a_udacity _to—"

The instant relief that washed though Bella upon realizing that Jacob still didn't know anything involving her and Embry's scheme was incredible. "Jacob," Bella said quietly, reaching up to run a hand through his shaggy hair. "It's okay. You don't have to get so worked up over this. I'll get the full story from Embry and we'll patch things up."

Jacob pulled away in order to glower at her. "He doesn't deserve you."

This made Bella smile in spite of herself. "I appreciate your concern." She paused. "So, did you and Haley patch things up?"

Jacob seemed surprised to hear his girlfriend's name. "Huh? Oh yeah, the boob grab thing. Naw, we're fine."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because she seemed pretty upset."

Jacob shrugged and waved away her statement. "Everything is fine Bells. Trust me." He pulled Bella back into his embrace.

"If you say so," she murmured before leaning her head against his chest. "If you say so," she repeated, her eyes closing. She suddenly felt tired, and Jacob's chest was considerably comfy.

Bella heard someone clear their throat and she and Jacob slowly stepped away from each other.

"So yeah, Sam and I told Mia everything and now she's asleep on their couch. She seemed pretty exhausted so Emily won't let me move her until the morning."

Jacob turned his head to glare at Embry, who shrunk back slightly under his gaze.

"You know Call, if it wasn't for you stupidity tonight, the Pack wouldn't even be in this position."

Embry's eyes narrowed. "I told you I was sorry, so can we please drop it?" He turned toward Bella. "So, can I maybe talk to you? Like now?"

Bella risked a look at Jacob's furious expression before nodding. "I guess that will be okay." She paused. "Goodnight Jake."

Jacob looked back and forth between her and Embry with irritation. "Whatever Bells," he said with a sulkily before turning around and walking down the small and secluded street. Bella felt her shoulders slump with disappointment.

"What do you want Embry? And what did you and Mia do that has Jacob in a rage?"

"Oh, he just caught me trying to take off her pants, that's all," he said nonchalantly.

"_That's all?_ ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"What? It's not like I was expecting Jacob to walk up to my car at that precise moment! I don't ask for these things to happen you know!"

Bella whirled around and shoved an accusing finger towards his chest. "And why did you even phase Embry?"

He rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and gave her a sheepish look. "Kay well, I've never claimed to have as great of control as my brothers—"

"Fantastic," Bella mumbled. "Just freaking brilliant."

"I was provoked you know!"

"I'm sure Jacob's various death threats were absolutely terrifying!"

"As a matter of fact they were! I mean, he thought I was cheating on you, so he was about to fucking _pummel _me. I only phased out of self preservation, otherwise I'm 100% sure he would have put a stop to my hope of ever fathering children."

"Oh whatever," Bella snapped with a huff.

"Look Bella, the reason I came out here to tell you this is because I really think we should continue this little 'fake-date' thing that we had going on."

"That sounds like a terrible idea."

"Normally I would agree," Embry said with a nod, "but the thing is, I'm pretty sure Mia and I were close to finding out something important concerning Jacob and Haley."

"And what would that be?"

Embry gave her a shit-eating grin. "Contrary to whatever Jacob told you, I think he and Haley broke up."


	9. Mia's Outtake

**A/N: I had **_**way **_**to much fun writing this. Like I mentioned in the last chapter, this outtake is not necessary to the overall plot of the story (although, you would be better informed if you **_**did **_**read this, just sayin'), so if you don't want to read this, you don't have to.**

* * *

"_You know," Embry said, his eyes not leaving the bathroom door, "I'm sure some rather interesting things will go down tonight in La Push involving Jacob and Haley. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"_

"_That we be sneaky little bitches and spy on our friend and his twit of a girlfriend?"_

"_Exactly."_

* * *

Embry Call was late.

I'm not surprised.

I am, however, irritated. This was his idea and although I had agreed to go along with it, he should be picking me up _on time._

The motherfucker.

His late ass finally pulled into my driveway at 9:27. Twenty seven minutes late.

My cat, Cheshire (I'm so fucking creative when it comes to names, can't you tell?), rubbed up against my legs and as I reached down to scratch behind his ears, Embry waltzed though the front door like he's Samuel L. Jackson.

He froze when he saw Cheshire. "Huh, I didn't know you had a cat."

Cheshire immediately started to back away from Embry, hissing and voicing his kitty rage. This behavior was unusual, since this is the cat that lets my four year old cousin sit on his tail and dress him up as an astronaut.

"Weird," I said as I watched Cheshire crawl under the couch to hide. "He usually loves people."

Embry just shrugged. "I'm not really a cat person, to be honest."

"I can't imagine why, since they seem to hate you so much."

He eyed me seriously. "Are _you_ a cat person?"

"No, I raise them up as my little minions. Cheshire here is currently in training to become an assassin. He's a little soft though. I have to harden what's left of his soul; otherwise he'll never measure up to be a killer."

He looked a little confused but a small smile was starting to tug at his lips. "So you're a cat person then."

"Yes, I'm a cat person. I like dogs too, but sometimes they can be too clingy and overbearing." I flicked off the light in my tiny entryway before grabbing my purse and heading out the door. Embry was right on my heels. "Do you think I'm clingy and overbearing?"

I was smiling to myself as I climbed into the passenger's seat. A few days ago I probably would have answered, 'Yes, and you're also a moron', but a lot had happened in the past couple of days. Things felt…different.

"No."

Embry grinned at me from the driver's seat. "Okay, good." He started messing around with the radio station and we argued about music all the way into La Push.

* * *

"This is pathetic. _How are there no Sour Patch Kids?_"

Of course Embry would be flipping his shit over candy.

"No, what's pathetic is it's nearly 10 o'clock at night and we haven't done any legitimate 'spying'. And what the fuck, I just fed you, like, two hours ago before we even left the diner."

He began to scour the candy isle. "But I'm still hungry!" he whined.

I shoved my way past him and grabbed some Sour Skittles. "Here, they're pretty similar."

He pushed the green box away with disgust. "What are you crazy? There is absolutely no comparison between Sour Skittles and Sour Patch Kids. You have just insulted Sour Patch Kids everywhere. I don't even know if I can be seen with you right now, that is how blown away I am by your complete lack of candy know how."

"First of all, you just insinuated that I insulted globs of sugar, corn starch, and more sugar. Second of all, maybe you should change some shit up. Instead of having your usual blobs of 'first they're sour, then they're sweet' goodness, you could have some M&M's, which are bite sized chocolate yummies. Third, you are an idiot."

He began to vigorously shake his head. "Excuse you? Absolutely not. If I was going to go for chocolate, I would obviously go for Hershey's. I mean, who do you think I am? Seriously, fucking M&M's—"

"You know what, screw you. M&M's are fucking delicious—"

A huge dude, about the same size as Embry, stepped in between us. "Are you two seriously arguing over candy?" He grabbed a pack of Twizzlers and slammed them onto Embry's chest. "Here, they're low fat."

"Thanks Paul," Embry gasped. He tossed the candy back onto the shelf before clutching at his chest and wincing. "So fucking helpful, as always."

Paul grinned at him before giving me a friendly pat on the back. "Keep him in line, will you?" he said before moving towards the front counter. I smirked while Embry glared at Paul's retreating back. "Of course."

Upon seeing something that was over my shoulder, Embry perked up. "So, you remember the spying thing we came out here to do?"

I whirled around only to spot Haley walk into the small convenience store by the gas station that we were currently in. The front door chimed and we watched as she walked towards the back of the store and began to peruse the drinks.

"Fuck yes," I whispered. Both Embry and I ducked down and began to inch forward. I felt him place a hand on the small of my back. He bent low and whispered in my ear, "I feel like we need a pair of walkie talkies. That would be _awesome._"

I shushed him. Haley was just around the corner. I straightened up slightly and elbowed him in the ribs. "Okay, go ask her how she is."

He looked mortified. "What? Why me?"

"Because you _know _her!" I whisper shouted.

"Yeah, for like a month! I've only just gotten back from college!"

I rolled my eyes. "You're just a pussy."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "No, I just don't think I'm in the proper position to ask her, a female, about her day, when you, also a female, are much better equipped for this situation."

"Embry, gently remove your tampon and go and talk to Haley. Right now, before she leaves."

The sudden sensation of having Embry grab my ass and squeeze caused me to jump and squeak simultaneously.

Haley turned around and appraised us with a raised eyebrow.

"Hi!" I said, giving her a nonchalant wave. Embry had already high tailed it back to the candy isle. The little fucker.

She nodded back at me before turning back to the drinks. I slowly moved up to stand by her, pretending to be interested in the energy drinks. I poked at a can of Monster. "Don't ever drink that. It's gross."

"I wasn't planning to," Haley grumbled. She turned towards me and gave me a hard look. "What do you want?"

I tried not to look surprised at her forwardness.

"I was just wondering if you and Jacob were doing okay. I know a mini scandal went down at my diner earlier today."

It took a moment for comprehension to dawn on her face. "Oh. Yeah. Listen, I'm not feeling good and I've had a really bad day. So if you could just leave me alone, I'd really appreciate it."

Well then.

"So sorry, next time I'll make an effort to have little or no concern for you or your problems."

For the second time that night, Paul stepped between me and the person I was talking to. "Is everything okay here?"

Haley nodded feebly. Then she burst into tears. Paul, who looked rather alarmed, put an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I'm s-sorry," Haley stuttered as she tried to wipe away her tears. "It's just that…s-she asked about…she asked me about J-J-Jake! And after everything t-that's h-happened I couldn't…" The rest of what she said was unintelligible due to her sobbing.

God, what a wailer.

Before I knew it, Embry had grabbed my hand and towed me out of the store. He fell against the hood of his car, roaring with laughter and clutching his sides.

"_Oh my god you made her cry!_"

"I didn't mean too. But the girl is fragile. I mean, damn."

He just shook his head again, his eyes beginning to tear up from his own laughter.

"Okay, one down, one more to go. Do you know where Jacob is?"

Embry swiped at his eyes before taking a shaky breath. "Yeah, he and Quil are at First Beach."

"How did you know that?"

He shrugged. "It's Marshmallow Night."

* * *

"Wow, finding Jacob was really easy."

"I told you, every Wednesday night is Marshmallow Night. Me, Jacob and Quil get together, roast marshmallows and have a couple of beers."

I scrunched up my nose. "Marshmallows and beer? That doesn't sound too good."

"It is." Embry slowly eased his car to a stop right on the outskirts of the beach.

"Wait a second, if you guys usually meet up tonight anyway then why didn't you just go as you normally would and ask him about Haley yourself?"

He casually put his arm around me. "Because spying on everyone with you is significantly more fun. And Jacob isn't too happy with me at the moment."

"Because of Bella."

"Yeah." He began to rub his thumb in rhythmic circles on my shoulder. I sighed and turned my head in his direction. His face was barely an inch from mine and I froze, not sure how to proceed.

Making out was going to happen eventually, we both knew this. But as he started to close the space between us I hastily placed a finger over his lips. "What did you draw on my diner again?"

He groaned, but answered anyway. "A dick."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means I owe you."

I nodded. "So we have to concentrate on not doing this until _after _this Bella and Jacob thing is all sorted out."

He buried his face in my shoulder and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me up against him. "But it's so _hard._"

I patted his head. "Life's rough."

He laughed. "God you're cruel."

"At least we're both suffering. Now how are we going to listen in on Jacob and Quil?"

* * *

Lucky for us, Quil and Jacob had set up their little campfire close to a small gathering of trees. It wasn't on the beach, exactly, but it was close enough that you could hear the waves. Embry and I lowered ourselves behind a bush, where Jacob and Quil could be heard, but only just.

"You have to do something about this bro," Quil said, popping a marshmallow into his mouth. Jacob was leaning away from the fire, his arms wrapped around his knees.

"I don't know," he said quietly, and I leaned forward a little bit in order to hear him better. "I just love her so much."

Quil nodded. "I know man, I know. That's why you're in this relationship. Because you love her."

"But we're just not coming together the way that I had hoped we would. I'm starting to feel like maybe it's just not in the cards for us."

"But you had her man!"

Jacob shook his head. "I feel like I let her slip through my fingers today. I had my chance to make things right but then I blew it."

"Bud you don know that fo' sho'," Quil muttered around the three marshmallows he had stuffed into his mouth.

"I just think we're done. Nothing about this feels right anymore."

"But Jake, you love her," Quil said softly.

"I know. And that's why I think I should just let it end."

"But—"

"Damnit Quil!" Jacob shouted as he launched to his feet. "I'm so in love with her it's pathetic. I'm fully aware of this. I would do anything for her. _Anything._ That's why I'm letting go." Then he turned around and marched away, leaving Quil by the fire.

Once a-fucking-gain I was be yanked up and hauled out towards Embry's car.

"Holy shit, he and Haley broke up. Holy shit holy shit holy shit."

"Embry," I began softly, "I don't know. He sounded really fucking sad."

"I'm not surprised. Jacob's our resident Captain Emo Pants. He mopes about girls and Bella. That's just what he does."

"But he wasn't moping about Bella," I corrected.

He shrugged. "Still—"

"I think he needs time. Let's give him some time, and t_hen _we'll think of a way for and Bella to get together."

"But—"

"Were you listening to the same guy I was? He does not need another girl, one who he used to love, shoved in his face right now, okay?"

"But Mia—" then he paused as some idea made his face light up. "Does this deem my fake dating Bella unnecessary?"

I eyed him suspiciously. "Yes, for the time being—"

I was cut off by his lips against mine. He lifted me up with one arm and managed to open up the door so we could fall into the backseat with his other hand.

I must admit, I was pretty impressed by this.

His large body made us going horizontal in the back seat pretty cramped. Before I could comment on how the seat belt clicker thing was digging into my back, he pulled off his shirt and began to push his hands up mine.

Yeah, everyone else could go fuck themselves. I did not give a _shit _about anything that was happening beyond this backseat.

Not a shit.

One of his hands started to fiddle with the buttons of my jeans when someone yanked open the door and pulled Embry right off me.

Cockblocked.

I scrambled out of the car in order to find out what the hell was going on.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Jake I can explain—"

"Like hell you can. Why would you do that to Bella? Why? What the _fuck _is wrong with you—"

"Calm the fuck down man, I told you, I can explain."

"You've been sneaking behind her back all this time, haven't you?" Jacob growled. He turned around and began to head in the opposite direction, not bothering to look at me. "I'm going to have to tell her what's been going on." Embry quickly jogged after him and grabbed his shoulder. "If you would just give me a second—" But Jacob shoved him away and began to advance on him. Before I could step in and tell them to stop having this pissing contest, Embry began to shake violently. Jacob grabbed me around the middle and dragged me backward.

"Embry! No…SHIT!" Jacob pushed me back behind him as the sound of clothes shredding and claws ripping at the earth surrounded us.

Embry had turned into a motherfucking wolf.

* * *

**A/N: Is anyone a little confused? Hehe.**

**Also, I realize that there's virtually no way that Embry and Mia would have been able to sneak up on Jacob and Quil. Of course they would have noticed. So yeah, I suppose that's a bit of a plot hole. But since the Saga is already full of them…**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: First things first! One of my readers (and one of my all time favorite Jacob and Bella writers) CarrieICL (also known as 'audreyii_fic' on LiveJournal) wrote an outtake for this story! It's the sleepover between Mia and Embry that a few of you were asking about a couple of chapters ago, and it's **_**amazing!**_** So please check it out right here at this link, just remember to add in the dots. Let her know how awesome it is!**

**likexaxdove(dot)livejournal(dot)com/3570(dot)html**

**Second, I want to thank everyone who reviews this story. You guys are amazing. I know I usually don't reply, but just know that I read every single one of your reviews and care about your opinions greatly. You guys make me smile with your support and enthusiasm, so thank you so much! And if there are any lurkers out there, make your selves known! I want to hear from you too!**

* * *

Bella was pretty sure she had never felt this irritated with Embry Call.

He had refused to give her any more details about Jacob and Haley and their pending relationship status until Mia was there, and as far as Bella knew Mia was still crashed out on Sam's couch.

She stared at her phone which she had put down on her bedside table, itching for it to ring. She had managed to grab a couple of hours of sleep when she gotten home late last night. Embry had assured her he would wait around for Mia to wake up, because they 'needed to talk'.

Bella could understand that.

What Bella could not understand was why she was still in the dark about _everything, _it seemed.

When her phone rang it was against her ear before the ringtone could really get itself started.

"Hello?"

"Hi Bella, it's Lenny. Um…would you happen to know why no one is at the diner right now?"

Bella felt the blood drain out of her face. "Well, Mia's a little held up right now."

There was an intake of breath. "Okay, well, I kind of need someone else here to help me open." A pause. "Do you think you could come in?"

Bella scrambled for an excuse. Today was technically her day off. "I actually have some…important matters to attend to." She winced. The lie sounded horrible, even to her.

"I'm _sure _you do," Lenny grumbled. "Okay, I'm calling the backup number that Mia gave to me incase this ever happened. Shit, she's going to skin me alive. Talk to you later Bella." Before he hung up she thought she heard him say something suspiciously like _important matters my ass._

As soon as she had flipped it closed her phone rang again, causing her to jump.

"…Embry?"

"Hey Bella! I have Mia here with me—" There was a groan in the background, "—that was her saying good morning!"

"Tell her I said good morning, and that I hope she's feeling better."

Embry quickly relayed her message and there was a swift _Fuck you. God, my head hurts… _that came from the background. "Mia says that she's feeling much better. So much better, in fact, that she's extremely eager to meet with you at that hole-in-the-wall waffle place that's right next to the convenience store in La Push. Do you think you can do that?"

Bella rolled her eyes even though Embry couldn't see her doing so. "Will you finally tell me what the heck you meant last night when you told me Jake and Haley broke up?"

"That's part of the agenda, along with delicious syrupy waffles." There was more grumbling in the background and Embry's voice came back in a huff. "Mia wants to know if the diner was opened properly."

"Lenny called, but he said he had someone to call who could come in, or something along those lines." She heard Embry tell Mia what she had said. Another groan came. "Mia is happy to know that her diner is in such good hands. So, waffles?"

Bella glanced at her alarm clock. It was 10:37am and she had nothing planned for the rest of the day. Plus, she _needed _to know what Embry and Mia knew. "Fine."

* * *

Bella immediately spotted Embry and Mia as soon as she stepped foot in the waffle joint where they were meeting. Embry was reading the comics from the local newspaper with way to much enthusiasm and Mia was hunched over her cup of coffee looking a little worse for wear. She slid into the booth beside Embry and across from Mia.

"How are you holding up?" Bella asked Mia.

In response, Mia pulled a small flask out of her purse and poured a little of whatever was inside into her coffee cup. "I've been better." She took a swig straight from her flask and grimaced. She offered the flask to Bella. "You want some?"

"Erm, no thank you."

Embry piped up. "I'd love some, actually."

Mia immediately shoved the flask back into her purse. "I wasn't offering _you_." She went back to glaring at her coffee and Embry sighed.

Bella took a moment to take in the both of them. Mia looked miserable and irritated, although that wasn't exactly unusual, but Embry had bags under his eyes and he was watching Mia intensely, vulnerability etched across his usually upbeat face.

She was beginning to get the feeling that their 'talk' had not gone over too well.

Before she could open her mouth and start a conversation, their waiter skidded to a stop right in front of them.

"Hey guys!" Seth Clearwater said, beaming. "It's good to see you Embry, Bella, and, er…new girl who knows about us!"

Mia visibly paled.

"Seth you idiot, keep your voice down," Embry snapped, looking around quickly to see if anyone had overheard them. Bella didn't see why it was a big deal, since most of La Push knew about the secret anyway.

"Right, sorry. Bella, what can I get you to drink? Coffee, orange juice, iced tea—"

"A glass of water will be fine, Seth. Thank you."

He grinned down at her. "Coming right up." He scurried off. Mia narrowed his eyes at his retreating back. "Why the _fuck _is he so cheerful?"

"Well, not everyone can have your grouchy and 'fuck off' attitude so early in the morning," Embry noted. He watched Mia closely to see how she'd react, whether it be through a sarcastic remark, a glare, or a smack in the shoulder. But Mia simply closed her eyes and placed her head down against the table. Bella saw Embry's jaw set with panic.

"So," Bella began after Seth had placed down her glass of water and after they had told him their order, "what exactly happened last night concerning Jacob and Haley?"

For the first time that morning Mia smiled. "I made her cry. It was awesome."

"Haley?"

Mia smirked. "Yeah, I mentioned Jacob and the girl just _lost it. _I don't know what the hell her problem was."

Bella was surprised by how little she cared about Haley and her break down. In fact…she felt somewhat pleased. And slightly triumphant. She resisted the urge to hug Mia in gratification.

"Anyway," Mia continued, "after that little escapade me and Lycan here—"

"Mia? What the fuck—"

"—_me and Lycan here_ snuck up on Jacob and Quil while they were having themselves a little man talk." She paused and took a sip from her coffee. She seemed to be perking up a little bit.

"So," Bella prodded, "what did you guys hear?"

Mia frowned. "Only that he's _oh so in love_ with this girl and that because of that he needs to _let her go because of his love _or some old bullshit."

Bella froze to the spot. "And he was talking about—"

"Haley, yeah." Mia gave her a look of sympathy, something Bella had never seen her give another human being before. "It looks like he broke up with Haley but…" she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry Bella."

Bella stared at the table listlessly as Seth placed their food in front of them. "I should have known," she said after a moment. "I should have known to just stay out of it. They were happy together and I ruined it."

"You don't know that you ruined it," Mia snapped as she shoveled hash browns into her mouth. "It's probably not your fault."

"I still think we should fake-date though," Embry said around a mouth full of waffle.

Bella shook her head as she pushed scrambled eggs around her plate. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"I agree, surprisingly," Mia said from across the booth.

Embry gave them perplexed looks. "But…but now is the time to strike!"

Mia raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a fucking battlefront, Lycan. This isn't something we can scheme up a fix for. Did Jacob break up with Haley for reasons we don't know? Yeah. Is he moping? If his little Pete Wentz sob fest last night had anything to do with it then yeah, he's doing that too. Let's just leave it for now."

Bella pushed her plate away from her. "Now that I think about it, this whole thing was just…lame. I mean, I appreciate the effort you two put into this scheme but, Jacob obviously cares for Haley and I was selfish to think that I could just waltz in and make him mine again."

Embry blinked at her. "Bella, you are my friend. I care about you. I want you to be happy. I want you to grow older and die surrounded by Mini-Bella's, and if things go according to plan, a couple of Mini-Jacob's as well. But I have to tell you this, and I'm only telling you this because I love you. Bella, my friend, you are a fucking _dumbass._"

Mia snorted and Bella felt her mouth fall open. "But—"

Embry held a hand up to shush her. "I'm serious. When it comes to Jake you're totally clueless."

"I think I know Jacob a little better then you give me credit for—"

"But see, you didn't have to hear his every thought, practically, for years on end. For example, these are Jacob's thoughts when you had something to do with them." He grabbed a bottle of syrup and dumped the sticky liquid on top of his waffles. "They were nice, sweet, overflowing with goodness, fluffy, you get the picture." He gestured towards Mia's hash browns, which she had soaked in ketchup. "Those are Jacob's thoughts when you _didn't _have something to do with them (or when Cullen had something to do with them). Brittle, crunchy, a bit salty, and kind of bloody too. That's how it's always been, Bella. So stop thinking that you're not worthy of him anymore, because, okay yeah you _were _sort of a bitch to him, but he would do anything to make you happy. Anything."

"Thank you for that food analogy, Embry," Bella grumbled. "Point taken."

Embry grinned at her. "I do what I can. So are we a couple again?"

Bella glanced at Mia, who was shaking her head.

"I'll have to think about it."

* * *

After paying the bill and saying goodbye to Seth the three of them wandered out into the parking lot. Bella felt her heart plummet into her stomach when she spotted the Rabbit and the two people getting out of it.

"Well, shit," Mia said from behind her. "You just can't catch a break, can you?"

Bella could practically hear her heart going wild in her chest as Jacob and Haley made their way to where they were standing.

"Fancy seeing you three here," Jacob called out as he and Haley closed in on them, hand in hand. Bella felt nauseous. It took all of her self control not to lose it right there where she stood.

_So much for breaking up and 'letting her go', _she thought bitterly.

"You guys just grabbing some breakfast then?" Haley asked happily.

"Uh, yeah, you caught us," Embry answered. Bella could hear the confusion in his voice.

Haley turned away from them and gave Jacob a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm going to go ahead and grab us a table. And please don't dawdle," she said sharply, giving Bella a pointed look. "We have things we need to discuss." She cut through the three of them and headed inside. Mia looked like she wanted to kill her.

Jacob gave them a tight smile. "Well it's good to see that you all have _recovered. _And made your amends, it seems." He gave both Bella and Embry a hard look before stepping around them in order to follow Haley.

"Jacob, wait." Bella reached out and grabbed his hand as he passed her. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Out of the corner of her eye she saw Embry and Mia begin to inch away.

Jacob turned to face her but he didn't pull away from her grasp. "What's up?"

"Um…I was just…erm," Bella mumbled, fumbling around with what she wanted to say. Finally she just spat it out. "I thought you and Haley had broken up."

Jacob briefly closed his eyes before heaving a sigh. "I don't think...no. We're still together." He gave her a suspicious look. "Why?"

"No reason! I…I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Jacob nodded, giving her a small smile. After a moment of hesitation he leaned forward and gave her a tender kiss on her forehead. His lips were soft and warm and Bella instantly wanted them back as soon as he pulled away. He gently squeezed her hand. "I changed my mind Bella. I decided to fight for the girl I love. I want her back because I love her. I'll do anything for her, even if it kills me. You understand that don't you Bella?"

His voice became urgent when she didn't respond. "You understand that, right?" He squeezed her hand again.

Bella finally nodded. "Yeah Jake. I understand."

She didn't.

Jacob looked relieved. His eyes roamed over her face for a moment before he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He smiled at her, and it was genuine this time. "Thanks Bells. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He gave her a quick hug before darting away from her and inside, after Haley.

Bella could feel the tears trailing down her cheeks as she made a bee line for her truck. Mia and Embry stepped in front of her and their images were blurry. She blinked rapidly, unsuccessfully trying to clear the tears from her eyes.

"Bella, what happened?" Embry asked, alarmed.

"Listen, I don't want to fake-date anymore, okay? We'll just keep going nowhere, if we do." She moved around them and unlocked her truck and slid inside. Embry moved to follow her but Mia grabbed his arm and held him back, shaking her head. For the first time, Bella was grateful to have a friend who understood when she needed to be left alone.

And with that she tore out of the parking lot and towards Forks.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter is a little late. Sorry about that.**

**Some of you are confused. Well I'm afraid I'm going to be tight lipped about all of that. Can't have you knowing exactly what's going on too early now can I? ;)**

**Enjoy this chapter (it's a bit of a filler, sorry!) and please review!**

* * *

It wasn't until Bella had pulled into her old neighborhood that she realized she had driven to Charlie's, not to her apartment complex. It had been a few weeks since the last time she had seen her dad. She hesitated, debating on whether or not she should turn back around.

Instead she pulled into Charlie's driveway and felt a tinge of relief when she saw the Cruiser parked right outside the garage.

Knocking on the front door felt strange, but after a brief moment the door swung open revealing her father, the television remote still clutched in one hand.

"Well hey Bella." He looked back over his shoulder, probably at the messy state the house was in, now that Bella no longer lived there. "I wasn't exactly expecting you—" He paused mid sentence when he spotted the defeated expression on Bella's face. He took a step back and opened up the door all the way. "Come on in Bells. The games on, maybe we can order pizza later." As she gave him a forced smile and stepped around him into the warm entryway, he decided not to mention the tear tracks on her cheeks.

Bella forgot how comfortable Charlie's couch was. She stared at the t.v screen, but she wasn't really paying attention to the baseball game that Charlie had switched the channel to. The nice thing about being with her dad was that Bella could be alone without actually being alone. Charlie would never push her to talk about anything she didn't want to talk about. Not one for words, he was probably relieved she hadn't opened up to him right away. Sometimes company was the best kind of support you could give someone, and Charlie knew this role better than anyone.

After an hour Bella was dozing on the couch, but she started when Charlie got up from his armchair. "I think I actually have a frozen pizza, Bells. I'm just gonna pop it into the oven." She nodded before snuggling even deeper into the cushions, taking a moment to grab a blanket and throw it over herself.

* * *

She took a small bite out of her pizza slice before setting it back onto her plate. She chewed slowly and watched Charlie out of the corner of her eye. "Hey dad?" she asked as soon as she saw him swallow.

"Yes Bells?"

"What do you think about Jacob and Haley? Do you think…do you think they're going to last?"

Charlie furrowed his brow, his face confused. "I don't know who this 'Haley' person is. She some new friend of Jake's?"

"No dad, not exactly. She's Jacob's girlfriend." She bit her lip and stared down at her pizza with intensity.

Charlie started to cough on a mouthful of pizza. "What?" he choked. "I didn't know Jacob had a girlfriend. That's weird, I figured Billy would have told me about something like that."

Bella frowned. "But they've been dating for awhile now."

Charlie shook his head. "Well no one ever tells me anything around here."

Bella quirked an eyebrow at him. That was a complete and utter lie. He and Billy gossiped like schoolgirls and they both knew it.

Charlie cleared his throat. "Well Bells, I don't think Jacob's relationship with this girl is going to last a very long time. Not with you back in town."

Bella opened her mouth to protest when Charlie took another bite of his pizza and turned the volume on the t.v up.

* * *

Bella's cell phone jarred her awake. She picked it up and opened it, still in a sleep induced haze. "Yes?"

"Bella, you need to get down to the diner _now._" Embry's clear and panicked voice woke her up.

She sat up straight, her free hand fumbling with her purse on the floor. "Why? What's wrong?"

She heard something shatter in the background. "Just get here," Embry snapped before hanging up.

Charlie was eyeing her curiously from his armchair as she scrambled out of the couch, only pausing to untangle herself from the blanket. "I have to run down to the diner. It sounded urgent."

Charlie nodded and Bella quickly walked over to him and gave him a side hug before she walked to the front door. "Thanks dad."

* * *

Nothing looked unusual when Bella pulled into Moe's parking lot. Mia and Embry's cars were parked off to the side like usual, and she spotted the occasional customer car dotted here and there.

It wasn't until she walked into the diner that she realized that all hell had broken loose. As soon as she stepped foot through the front door Embry was practically on top of her. "Lenny called Sebastian," he said. He looked frazzled, to say the least. "And Leah decided that today would be the perfect day to come in and eat lunch with her boyfriend while he was at work."

Bella felt her eyes grow wide. "Oh _no._"

Embry grabbed her shoulder and began to steer her in the direction of a small group of people, all of them standing outside of the office. "'Oh no' is fucking right Bella. She won't come out of the office. She's having like…a breakdown or something. And she won't let me in. She won't let anybody in."

Bella looked up at him sadly. "Well can you blame her? After everything that happened last night, her finding out about—"

"I know Bella," Embry practically shouted, cutting her off. "I fucking know, okay?" He stopped and let go of Bella once they were standing right outside the door. Sebastian was knocking on it and calling to Mia. "Come on Me-Me, will you just let me in so we can talk about this? I was just trying to help you out—"

The door flew open and for a split second everyone thought Mia was going to come out. Instead she hurled her Superbad Unrated Edition DVD case straight at Sebastian's head. She hit her mark and he let out a cry of pain. "I told everyone to _fuck off!_" she shouted before slamming the door shut again. A moment later they heard the lock click.

"What the hell is going on with her?" Lenny said exasperatedly from where he stood next to Leah, who looked slightly amused by the whole ordeal. "I've never seen her freak out like this."

"Well you certainly didn't help," Bella said, piping up for her friend. "You called her _twin_, which was just stupid. And after everything she found out about last night—"

Lenny gave her a curious look. "Found out about what?"

Leah and Embry's head swiveled in Bella's direction and she earned a pointed glare from both of them. "Umm," she fumbled, searching around for some lie to feed Lenny.

Embry quickly stepped in for her. He pointed to Sebastian, who was rubbing his forehead. "She just found out Sebastian's gay. She's taking it a little hard, that's all."

Sebastian looked extremely confused. "But Mia's known about that since we were ten." He eyes widened and he began to pound on the office door with more urgency then before. "Mia, is there something you don't want to tell me?" The door swung open again and he automatically flinched back when Mia poked her head out. Now that Bella could get a good look at her, she noted that she looked terrible.

"No Seb, this is not about you and your preference for men. This is about…" She glanced in Bella and Embry's direction. "This is about things none of you understand. Now can you all just _go away. _Please." Slowly everyone began to turn and move towards the diner's exit. "Except you, Bella. I want to talk to you."

Without looked around to gauge anyone's reaction Bella moved into the office after Mia. It was messier then usual and Mia slumped down onto a chair and covered her face with her hands. "I feel like such a little bitch right now."

"How come?"

"Because I don't think I can handle anymore of this _bullshit_. First Embry turns into a wolf, which, let me tell you, fucked me up. I feel like I should be allowed to turn into a fucking panther in order to compensate. It's just fucking weird as shit and crazy."

Bella frowned. "You know Mia, I don't think it's all that big of a deal. I found out in highschool—"

"I _know _it isn't a big deal."

Bella sighed. "Then why are you flipping out?"

Mia peaked up at Bella through her fingers. "Because a part of me _liked _it." She froze. "I mean, not like _that_. But just…it's cool. It's like, my friend can turn into a giant ass wolf, what now bitches? But dating a _werewolf—"_

"—has its perks," Bella finished for her. Mia studied her for a moment before giving her a tiny smile. "I suppose that's true." She sighed before straightening up a couple of scattered papers on her desk. "I guess it's just something you have to get used to."

"Definitely." Bella began to twiddle her thumbs. "So, are you and Embry…you know," she prompted.

Mia groaned and put her head in her hands again. "Aside from the Lycan shit, I don't know right now. I still need to figure out where we stand."

"That's a start," Bella said, trying to sound encouraging. "And what about catching Sebastian running your diner today? How did that make you feel?"

"When the fuck did you become my therapist? And catching him set me off like you wouldn't believe, why else do you think you walked into this diner only to find that I had locked myself into my office?"

Bella frowned. "Don't take any offence to this but…he was just trying to help out."

A silence started to stretch between them when Mia didn't answer right away. "Can I tell you something?" Mia whispered.

"Absolutely."

"I _hate _running this diner."

For some reason, this didn't surprise Bella too much. "Then why do you do it?"

Mia shrugged. "Because I'm the one who it was left to. There's a sense of responsibility that comes with that. I know I'd be happier in the long run if I handed it over to my twin, but the thing is, I'd rather chew off my own hand then give him the satisfaction."

Bella took the risk of patting Mia on the shoulder. "You'll figure out something."

"I'm going to have to. Do you have anything to do on Saturday?" She said, launching into another topic.

"Nope, just work."

"Okay, because when Leah decided to grace us with her presence today she told us she was throwing some sort of party." She glanced at Bella out of the corner of her eye. "Jacob will be there."

"Not going."

"I'll fire you if you don't."

"I hate you."

"Well life's just a bitch, ain't it?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the complete lack of Jacob in this chapter. But I am about to smother you with Jacob goodness next chapter, so be prepared!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: I bumped the rating to this story from a 'T' to an 'M', just to be safe. Sorry if this causes any inconvenience. **

* * *

"I'm doing this for you, you know," Mia announced as she pulled her car onto the shoulder of the road and parked adjacent to the Clearwater's house.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bella asked grouchily. "You're the one who forced me to come tonight."

"Because it's for your own good," Mia snapped. She ran a hand through her hair and glared at the Clearwater's house. "I'm not Leah's #1 fan and this is _her _party—"

"Which is why I suggested we didn't come tonight," Bella ground out, trying to keep a hold on her patience. Mia had all but dragged her into her car and driven her here in the hopes that she and Jacob would reconcile their relationship tonight. Bella didn't think there was anything _to _reconcile, since Jacob had made it quite clear from the beginning that Haley was the girl he wanted to be with, that _Haley _was the one he wanted to _fight for._ It had taken Bella a couple of days to go from feeling raging self pity to raging frustration. Maybe if she had just stayed out of Jacob's life from the beginning then none of this would have happened. She should have just let him go, like she had originally planned to do, because he didn't deserve any more of this drama.

But Bella Swan was never really good about being selfless when it came to dealing with Jacob Black.

"Do you want to know what I think you should do?"

"Nope." Bella leaned her head back against the car seat and crossed her arms in an attempt at defiance.

"You should tell Jacob that you still have feelings for him, and that you think that Haley is a _skank bitch_ and that you think that he's much better off being in a relationship with _you, _not _her._"

Bella let out a sigh. "But Jake _isn't _better off with me. And who am I to try to tell him who he should or shouldn't be with? No, I think it's best for everyone if I just let it end. Besides, Haley isn't so bad. I mean, she makes him happy. That's what he said. She's probably much better at relationships then I am." She paused to take in a breath. "Jake deserves better than me."

Bella jumped when Mia slammed her fist against the car's horn. "Oh _shut the hell up._ I am so fucking sick of your 'woe is me, I'm just not good enough for _anyone' _bullshit! Instead of cowering in the corner, hiding your feelings and convincing yourself that you _don't deserve him_,fucking grow a pair and tell him how you feel! If Jacob doesn't feel the same way, which I _highly _doubt, then you can move on. If he _does _have feelings for you, then you deal with Haley and then have really great sex. Just stop being a fucking coward."

Bella felt tears prick the corner of her eyes and she quickly climbed out of the car before Mia could see them. But Mia had gotten out at the same time and was in front of her, arms crossed over her chest.

"Just leave me alone for a moment, please," Bella said, voice shaking.

"You're scared, aren't you?" Mia observed.

It took Bella a moment to work up an answer. "Yeah. I guess," she mumbled.

Mia shrugged. "I would be surprised if you weren't."

"What's surprising is that you think I should tell Jacob how I feel, when _you're _the one who said I should fake-date Embry for the sake of making Jacob jealous."

Mia held up a hand in her defense. "Okay, that would have worked if Embry had managed to keep his hands _on _you and _off _me. Then the whole charade would have been much more convincing. Let's face it; we were done as soon as Jacob picked up on our…attraction to each other."

Bella smiled in spite of herself. "So you and Embry…?"

Mia glared at her. "Oh don't look so smug."

* * *

One hour and three beers later, Bella had her arm flung over Embry's shoulders. "And then Mia _slapped _me!"

"I did _not _slap you! I hit my horn! There is a huge difference. Though there are times when I really want to slap you, mind."

"Oh _whatever. _It startled me. Like a slap."

Mia quirked an eyebrow and looked over at Embry. "Am I like this tipsy?"

Embry grinned. "Nope, you're much more amusing."

Mia narrowed her eyes. "Good to know."

"You know what," Bella began, pausing to throw her other arm around Mia's shoulder, "I don't even care if Jake shows up or not. I am content to be here amongst friends."

"Sure you are Swan," Embry said as Mia avoided the beer that was sloshing out of Bella's beer cup.

"No really," Bella insisted, "who needs Jacob Black? I sure don't—"

Speak of the devil. Jacob walked through the door at that moment, Paul at his side. Haley was nowhere in sight.

"Holy crow," Bella muttered.

"It's 'holy _shit_' Bella," Mia corrected. "Where are we? In kindergarten?"

Bella pulled her arms away from her two comrades and pushed herself away from the couch she had been sitting on. She gestured to the red cup still in her hand before setting it down on the coffee table. "You were right Mia. That's pretty much liquid courage."

Mia snorted. "I'm always right." She scooted over next to Embry and leaned her head against his shoulder. He looked absolutely thrilled.

Bella marched through the small but noisy crowd that made up the party, mostly the Pack and friends, and made her way to Jacob. Before he could open his mouth to offer her a greeting, she flung her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. "Hi Jake!" she exclaimed as she pulled away from him and swiped nonexistent dust away from his shirt sleeves.

"Hey Bells," he greeted, returning her hug.

"Oh my god, hey Bella."

She spared a glance at Paul, whose eyes were glazed over and red as rubies. "Oh shit, I spy chips and dip. Oh shit oh shit oh shit." He left them for the snack table without another word.

Bella turned back to Jacob. "What's up with him?"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Don't ask." He paused. "Didn't you go to college?" He shook his head. "Never mind."

His eyes wandered over to where Embry and Mia were cuddling on the couch. "You and your boyfriend in an open relationship or something?" he said with a huff.

"Um…no. The thing is…Jake…" she felt herself falter a bit. "Embry and I aren't dating."

Surprise and happiness flashed across Jacob's face. "Really?" he whispered with excitement.

Bella but her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I'm single now. Jake I have something I want to tell you…um…I actually have…um…"

Jacob was too excited to notice the fact that she couldn't spit out a sentence. "Hold that thought Bells, I have to make a phone call." He disappeared out the front door in a flash. Bella gulped. She would need a lot more 'liquid courage' in her system if she was going to do this.

To tell Jacob that she was in love with.

That she was _still _in love with him. She turned and headed over to where the kitchen counter was, her hands busy with fixing herself a shot of _anything_ when she felt someone grab her wrist and whirl her around.

"Wha—"

But Jacob's lips cut her off.

A feeling of warmth spread across her body that had nothing to do with alcohol. She felt herself immediately push herself against him, her hands gripping his shoulders. His hands were gripping her hips, causing her shirt to ride up and expose her hip bones and a sliver of her stomach.

"Get a room!" someone called. Someone who sounded an awful lot like Mia.

Jacob pulled back, his eyes searching her face, asking her what she wanted.

Bella nodded, her hand grabbing his in a death grip. He towed her down the hallway, away from the party and pushed open the door leading into a small office with a dingy computer and a worn leather loveseat propped up against the window. Thankfully the curtains were drawn.

In a flash Jacob had pushed her onto the loveseat, his large body looming over her, his hands raking over her body, feeling her, exploring.

It was all happening so fast and there was a small voice in the back of Bella's head that was telling her that they should stop and have some tact. That making out or heavy petting or _whatever _was about to happen should not happen in the Clearwater's office.

Bella decided to take a page out of Mia's book and tell that little voice to _fuck off._

Jacob's fingers laced themselves through the belt loops of Bella's jeans, effectively pulling her hips up to graze against his. Bella bit back moan at the sensation, and her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head when Jacob's mouth pulled away from hers in favor of her neck. She felt his tongue trace its way up her neck and to her jaw bone, but Bella wanted it to go _lower_. She pushed away from him and pulled her t-shirt off in one swift movement. His eyes widened as they traced over the exposed skin, his fingers moving from her hips to her stomach, up to her ribs, and finally tracing themselves along the outline of her breasts.

Bella nearly wished he would just get it over with and tear her bra off right then and there. Instead, she reached for the edge of Jacob's shirt and succeeded in pulling it off. She let her hands glide down the muscles in his chest, his stomach. Once again he was on top of her, his hands sliding down her sides until they reached the top of her jeans. His fingers went to unzipping them and pulling them down.

Bella stiffened and he immediately stopped. "What's wrong Bells," he gasped breathlessly, pulling back slightly to search her face.

"Trust me, _nothing_." Bella said, her voice just as breathless as his. "It's just…I'm not very good at this." She gestured to their bodies in order to drive her point home.

Jacob shook his head. "No Bells, you're doing a pretty swell job, _trust me_. Besides, I've been fantasizing about this since I was sixteen."

Bella quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

He pressed himself down against her in order to place kisses along her cheek and jaw bone. "Really."

Bella happily took note of the hard bulge that was pressing against her upper thigh. Jacob pulled down her jeans and flung them onto the floor, his hands moving to her bare inner thigh. He let out a low groan that had Bella nearly clawing at him to do _something _with that tongue of his when—

-he did.

* * *

The cries from inside the office were steadily getting louder. Mia and Embry clinked beer bottles in celebration.

"Not gonna lie, I'm feeling pretty proud right now," Embry said after taking a swig.

Mia nodded in agreement. "After all that bullshit, they're finally doing something."

Embry snorted. "And in Leah's house to boot. She'll flip her shit when she hears about this."

Mia turned to him with a devilish glint in her eye. "I kind of want to be the one to tell her."

"You would."

A particularly loud cry came from inside the office, followed by a grunt.

Both Mia and Embry frowned at their beers.

"Mia, I think we need better liquor to toast with." He gestured to the bottle of vodka that was sitting on the kitchen counter.

Mia grinned. "Let's do this."

* * *

Bella's mind and body felt heavy in the most pleasant of ways. With her head resting on Jacob's chest and her legs twisted up under him on the cramped but surprisingly comfortable loveseat, she felt her eyes flutter shut in contentment. Jacob's steady breaths ruffled her messy hair, but Bella found the rhythm peaceful and felt herself being pulled into sleep.

"Love you Bells."

She jerked back into awareness for a moment, a small but happy smile forming across her lips. "Love you two, Jake."

* * *

**A/N #2: ! This was my very first attempt at writing anything remotely sexy, so please be gentle with me! Review and let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 12

Bella's eyes flew open and she would have bolted upright if not for the heavy male arm draped across her bare stomach. Her legs were cramped, she had a headache, and it was absolutely _sweltering _in the room_. _With no concept of the time or where her clothes were, she slowly scooted out from under Jacob's arm and toppled onto the floor. Suppressing a grunt as she landed none too softly on the hardwood floor, she quickly looked back at Jacob to see if he had woken up. He had rolled over so that his large body took up the entirety of the loveseat and his light snores were an indication that he was still asleep, thankfully.

Using the soft morning light streaming in through the blinds Bella began to look around the small office until she discovered her pants and shirt before pulling them on. Then she slumped back down and leaned against the loveseat.

Bella was experiencing three specific emotions. The first one was elation. It was always a great feeling to know that the person you were in love with loved you back, but for Bella it felt heightened since she had been under the impression that for the past couple of weeks that Jacob didn't feel that way for her anymore. Knowing that he still loved her after all this time and after everything that she had done to him was humbling. The second emotion she felt was guilt, and it twisted in her gut unpleasantly. Jacob was, according to the entirety of La Push, a taken man, and Bella had never pictured herself as a 'homewrecker'. She frowned at this revelation. It was unfair how something as wonderful as being with Jacob could make her feel _bad_, but Bella could only imagine how Haley would feel once she found out. No one deserved to be cheated on. The third feeling was determination. Haley had to know, of course. This wasn't just a one night stand between her and Jake; Bella could feel in her bones that last night had been the start of something _real_. It wasn't fair to keep Haley in the dark about this and if Haley really loved Jacob the way she had claimed to then hopefully she would understand the situation. Hopefully.

_Of course Jacob had also claimed to love Haley_, Bella reminded herself with a frown. But then last night he had just jumped her. Not that she was complaining.

A buzzing noise interrupted Bella from her meditation and she glanced around and spotted Jacob's beat up and shabby looking phone sticking out of the pocket of his jeans. Sparing a quick glance at the sleeping figure on the loveseat she pulled the phone out of his jeans and glanced at who was calling. _Incoming Call From: Haley. _Bella gulped before looking back at Jacob again. He was still fast asleep and Bella was contemplating over whether or not she should wake him up.

_Maybe I should just answer the phone, let her know what's going on. _

But breaking the news over the phone seemed sort of…harsh. Bella felt that this sort of relationship intervention needed to happen in person. Not only was it kinder but maybe Haley would be nicer to Bella about the whole ordeal if Bella took the time to tell her in person.

_Hello Haley, I totally did naughty stuff with your boyfriend last night and I think he and I are about to start a monogamous relationship. That means you're out of the picture now. Hope you don't mind._

Suddenly talking to Haley over the phone didn't seem like such a bad idea. But before Bella could press the 'talk' button the phone died. It literally died. It was official; the universe was getting back at her for having sexy and fun times with a taken man the night before.

It was off to Haley's house then.

Momentarily stricken with terror Bella looked back over at Jacob and contemplated on whether or not to wake him. If she did then they could talk to Haley together. It would be a lot less scary (on Bella's end) if Jacob was there to take the brunt of some of Haley's wrath. If Haley was angry about it, of course. Maybe she would be cool about the whole thing.

Probably not.

Jacob rolled onto his back and shifted slightly in his sleep. His face was smooth and peaceful and waking him felt like a crime. She was just going to have to confront Haley alone and in person.

She stood up and pulled on her shoes before tiptoeing to the door. After quietly closing the door behind her she found both Mia and Embry both fast asleep by her feet. Embry was leaning up against the wall, his chin against his chest. Mia's head was in his lap, in her hands a nearly empty bottle of vodka. Bella rolled her eyes. She began to creep past them when she heard a rustling noise coming from the pair.

"Sneaking off Swan?"

Bella sighed before turning around. Embry was looking up at her, his sleepy eyes expectant. She shook her head. "No."

"Then where are you off to?"

Bella decided to cut to the chase. "I need to talk to Haley."

Embry's eyes widened in surprise. "It's a little early for that, don't you think? It's barely 7:30 in the morning."

Bella shrugged. "She already called Jacob so I know she must be awake. And I'll feel a lot better about what happened last night if I go ahead and talk to her about it."

Embry stared at her incredulously. "Why don't you just wait for Jake then? It'll probably be easier for you if you two just do it together."

"Probably."

"You're still going to go talk to her now, aren't you?"

"Yep."

Bella was about to be on her way again when she realized that she was missing an important detail. "Do you happen to know where she lives?"

"What do I look like, a directory?" Embry snapped. He froze when Mia moved her head around and then relaxed when she continued to sleep.

"Come on Embry, just tell me."

Embry sighed before rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Oh _fine. _She lives down the street, next to the general store."

* * *

As she walked outside and turned to her left, Bella wished she had remembered to bring a jacket. The cool morning air nipped at her bare arms as she started to walk down the street. As she began to rub her arms in order to create some heat, Bella mentally went over what she was going to say.

_Your boyfriend, Jacob? Yeah, we're in love and you're just going to have to step out of the picture because you're in the way of our…relationship—_

Too homewrecker-y.

_Haley, I am extremely sorry to break it to you like this, but I am terribly afraid that your boyfriend and I are now 'together'. Now I am sorry for the hurt feelings this has caused, but Jacob and I are in love and what not. That is that. Good day._

Not sympathetic enough.

_Oh my god Haley I am __**so sorry! **__I feel so bad about what Jacob and I did! Maybe…um…we can set you up an eHarmony account and find you a really nice guy!_

Too sympathetic.

_I fucked your boyfriend. Get over it bitch._

Well, Mia would approve of that one.

Bella reached Haley's small but tidy looking house much faster then she had intended. She lingered outside of the front door, hands still rubbing her arms, and completely second guessed herself. No no, this was a lame idea. She should have come with Jacob. That's exactly what she should have done. And besides, wasn't _he _the one who jumped _her _last night? Shouldn't he be the one explaining to _his _girlfriend that he wanted to be with another girl? Bella nodded to herself. That sounded completely reasonable.

But then, what light did that cast her in? If she asserted the fact that she wanted to be with Jacob now then perhaps Haley would respect her. Especially since she was doing it the morning after at 7:43am.

Before she could change her mind she marched up to the door and knocked on it three times.

She heard a muffled "Come in!" come from the other side of the door, and after a moment of hesitation Bella pushed open the front door and stepped inside.

Haley and Paul were sitting on the couch in the tiny living room, his arm around her shoulders. She had her legs tucked up under her and her hand was resting on his knee.

An indescribable amount of fury rose up in Bella's chest. They were a _couple._ Haley was _cheating _on Jacob. A small voice in the back of her head reminded Bella that they were doing the same thing she and Jacob had been doing last night. Well, not the _exact _same thing, but still.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, causing Haley to jump and Paul to stare at her as if she was crazy. Haley hurriedly stood up.

"Bella—"

"That is _not _Jacob!" Bella interrupted, pointing an accusing finger at Paul.

He raised an eyebrow. "Your observation skills are flawless."

"Bella—" Haley began again before Bella threw up a hand to silence her.

"After all the _crap_ that Jacob has been through, you have the _nerve_ to…to—"

"To cuddle?" Paul offered.

"Bella—"

"He is the last person on the planet to deserve this!" Bella ran frantic fingers through her hair, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She would have to tell Jacob as soon as possible. "I have to go," she said softly. "I have to tell him about this, I can't keep this from him."

"Oh my god," Paul said from the couch. "You're the biggest hypocrite ever, seriously. You and Jacob totally had some hanky panky in Leah's office last night. And then you come in here the morning after, and flip your shit out on _us? _Who the hell do you think you are?"

Bella turned toward Haley, a blush forming across her cheeks.

Haley sighed in exasperation. "Bella—"

"I'm sorry," Bella blurted out. "Jacob and I…were together last night. And I'm really sorry but we love each other. And I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I thought that you deserved to know."

Haley shrugged. "Eh, I already knew. It was Jacob who called me last night letting me know that you were finally single and that he was going to go for it." She nudged Paul with her foot. "See, I _told _you that you needed to have more faith in my plan! It worked didn't it? Jacob finally got the girl he was fighting for!" She slumped down next to Paul again and gave a girlish sigh. He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Huh?"

Haley looked back up at a dumbfounded Bella. She gave her a look of sympathy. "Jacob and I were never actually dating."

* * *

**Long ass A/N:**

**DUN DUN DUN.**

**:D**

**This chapter greatly amused me while writing it, which probably means that no one else found it funny. Ha.**

**I'm going to be honest with everyone. I'm losing it with this story. I've become almost completely disinterested in Twilight and writing the last chapter and this chapter was hard for me, I feel like I've had to push myself to get them out because I want to move on to other projects so badly (Notice how I haven't though? I've been good.). However since this story only has one more chapter and an epilogue to go anyway it would be **_**silly**_** for me to give up now.**

**I promise I'm going to complete my story. You have my word. And I now you're sitting there thinking, "You are an internet person who I do not know. I cannot trust you," but really I **_**promise **_**I'm going to finish this. Promise promise promise. **

**As always, thank you so much to all of the people who review. You guys are encouraging and bring a smile to my face. If it weren't for you guys who knows where this story would be. I love you all! Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 13

"…_What?_"

Haley shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "We never actually dated," she stated simply.

Bella continued to stand there; her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. "But that…wait—"

"I'll get the whiskey." Paul stood up, rolled his shoulders and made his way into the kitchen.

Haley patted the now empty space next to her. "You can come and sit down if you want. You're looking a little pale."

"She _always_ looks pale," they heard Paul call from the kitchen.

Bella shook her head. "I don't understand."

Haley looked surprised. "Really? I figured the whole concept of pretending to date someone was well known, but if you need me to explain it to you—"

"No," Bella snapped, cutting her off. "I'm fully aware of the concept; I just want to know why you and Jacob did it."

Haley bit her lip and refused to meet Bella's eyes. "You're mad, I get it. But it was _all _my idea. Jacob was pretty reluctant at first, especially the first time he saw you again at that party. You know, the night he introduced me to you as his girlfriend? He really didn't want to, but I talked him into keeping it up since I saw you giving me the evil eye, like I'd put my fingers in your cheesecake, or something." She giggled and Bella felt her eyes narrow.

"I don't like cheesecake," she said, irritated.

"Anyway," Haley continued, unperturbed, "I thought things were going well, you and Jacob were going to have lunch and then…" She finally met Bella's eyes. "And then you started dating Embry."

Bella's eyes widened and Haley nodded in understanding. "Yeah, Jacob just wanted to call it off, said that if you were happy with Embry then he should just let it be. But I don't know," Haley paused to flip her hair over her shoulder. "I sort of got the vibe that you weren't all that in to Embry, to be honest."

_You'd be correct_.

Bella turned away from Haley, letting the information wash over her. It was…slightly unbelievable.

"But…what about that time Mia made you cry? She mentioned Jake and you started to cry? It was that day that Jacob fondled me by accident."

Haley scoffed. "We're all girls here, you don't have to pretend you didn't enjoy that," she said, smirking.

"I have a dick, thank you very much," Paul called again from the kitchen.

"What Mia witnessed," Haley continued again, choosing to ignore her boyfriend, "was me putting on a truly great performance, if I do say so myself."

"So all the arguing and yelling in the parking lot that day, all the arguing in general was—"

"All fake," Haley nodded.

Bella continued to stand there, quietly sorting out everything in her mind. Something was starting to bubble up in her throat, but she took a deep breath and pushed it down. "I have to go; Jacob and I need to talk."

Haley opened her mouth to protest but Bella was already half way to the door.

She spotted Paul out of the corner of her eyes. "But…I just now found the Jack Daniels!"

* * *

The walk back to Leah's house took considerably less time than the walk to Haley's had felt. Probably because as soon as Bella rounded the corner and spotted Mia's car still parked out on the street she broke into a sprint. Stumbling inside, she felt that feeling start to bubble up again in her throat, but she ignored it.

She turned into the hallway where she had left Embry and Mia.

"Yeah bro, Swan and I weren't actually dating."

Rounding the corner, Bella was met with the sight of a surprised looking Jacob, a sheepish Embry and a sleepy Mia, who was sitting up and running her fingers through her hair.

"That doesn't….wait…._what?_" Jacob's gaze was flying across all of the faces now looking at him "You two never actually…but that means…"

The feeling was back, once again bubbling up in Bella's throat and constricting her chest. Her lips started to twitch, and when Jacob turned to stare at her, his expression was just as shocked as her's had been back at Haley's house.

Bella snorted.

And then she started to laugh, a belly-aching, knee slapping kind of laugh. She doubled over, laughing so hard that tears swam in her eyes.

"The hell is her problem?" Mia asked.

Gasping for breath, Bella pointed a shaking finger at Jacob. "He and Haley were-" Chuckle. "Never actually—" Giggle. "They were fake dating too!" Bella's cheeks were starting to ache.

"_WHAT?_" Embry shouted, standing up and making wide gestures in Jacob's direction. "You assholes never told me!"

Jacob's lips trembled, but finally a huge grin stretched across his face. "That's 'cause you can't keep a secret." And then he too started to laugh. He slid down the wall and onto the floor, his hands clutching at his sides.

Mia pouted. "Well I don't feel nearly as clever as I did five minutes ago."

A door down the hallway opened and a messy and annoyed Leah stepped out. "What are you all still doing here?" She asked, glowering.

Mia perked up. "Hey Leah, guess what? Jacob and Bella had sex on your nice leather loveseat! Isn't that nice?"

Leah's face began to twist with rage, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"Abort! Abort!" Embry cried and everyone scrambled out the door.

* * *

When Embry and Mia sprinted to Mia's car, Jacob grabbed onto Bella's hand and steered her to the right. "Is it okay if we talk?" he questioned, looking down at her, a half smile playing across his face.

Bella nodded and returned the smile, and Jacob gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Five minutes later they were walking onto First Beach and Bella's grip on Jacob's hand tightened. She moved in closer to him, savoring the warmth he provided and eyeing the waves that were pounding onto the shore.

"I hope you're not mad about what happened Bella," Jacob said softly, his eyes surveying the sea as they began to stroll down the beach.

"I'm not mad. I did the exact same thing, remember?"

Jacob shrugged half heartedly. "Yeah, but I sort of started it."

"Haley started it. Mia finished it."

Jacob chuckled.

Bella furrowed her eyebrows. "How do you even know Haley?"

"She's been Paul's girlfriend for nearly a year. She's um…kind of nosy in the nicest way, if that makes sense."

"Okay, explain to me how Embry knew _nothing_."

"That's easy. He's been at college, and since he got back this summer he's thought of nothing but Mia. Also, he's a bit dopey."

"In the nicest of ways," Bella finished for him. She glanced up at him, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "So about last night—"

"Last night was fucking awesome." His eyes widened with terror. "Oh god, please say you remember what happened. I didn't think you were drunk—"

"I remember _very _well," Bella said. She watched with amusement as he sighed in relief. "Oh thank god."

"I was talking about what happened after, what we said—"

"I love you." He stopped walking and turned around to face her. He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a simple smile. "It's sort of a well known fact around here."

Bella felt a grin stretch across her face and she entwined her fingers in his. "I love you too. I said it back, but you may have been sleeping or something—"

Jacob interrupted her by cupping her face and kissing her, his lips soft and warm against hers. He pulled away before she could try to deepen it. "I'm glad I didn't imagine that part," he remarked before leaning back in and kissing her forehead.

"So," Bella began as she leaned into his chest. "Can we talk about dating and a relationship now?"

She felt his chest shake with laughter. "I don't know Bells, can it be a real one this time?"

* * *

**A/N: And so ends the last chapter! Epilogue should be up within the next couple of days. :)**

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter providing encouragement and kind words. You guys, my readers, are simply amazing and I doubt this story would be so close to completion if it wasn't for you guys. So thank you so much! You all mean the world to me.**

**Since we only have the epilogue left, if you have any questions you want to ask, anything at all pertaining to this story, go ahead and ask. I'll answer them in a Q&A at the end of the epilogue. What can I say, I want to feel snazzy and professional. **

**Anyway, thanks so much for reading and please review!**


	15. Epilogue

The October air cut through Bella's sweatshirt as she snuggled up to Jacob. They were leaning against Bella's truck outside of Moe's Diner, watching as Mia packed up the last of her things in preparation for her move. Mia strolled out the front door, large cardboard box in hand, before heaving it into the trunk of her already packed car. After slamming the trunk shut she leaned back and stretched her arms over her head. "Well, that's the last of it." Her slumped forward, she was obviously exhausted.

"I can't believe tonight's your last night on the west coast," Bella said for what felt like the twelfth time that day.

"It seems like just yesterday you were butting into other people's relationships by hatching up plans and _scheming_." Jacob's tone was playful and he gave Mia a small smile, which she barely returned.

"Yeah well, you two just couldn't handle my genius." She glanced over her shoulder at Embry. In town for the weekend, he was leaning up against his car and watching her with a thoughtful expression. Mia had announced last weekend that she was selling the diner and moving across the country, to Virginia Beach to be exact. "My family and I went there every summer before I moved up here when I was fifteen. I liked the beach atmosphere, the nice sea breeze, the warm sand under your feet- Oh don't give me that look Black, it makes me feel like I'm in a Disney movie okay?" Mia had said, leaning against the counter after fixing them all drinks. Embry had stiffened. "Well then, I hope you enjoy high taxes, tourists, and those annoying ass seagulls." He had stood up and walked out of the diner without another word.

Needless to say, the past few days had been tense.

Mia cleared her throat and looked back over at Jacob and Bella. "You guys don't have to stay here you know, watching my dumbass brother sign the ownership papers is really not a big deal."

"Naw," Jacob said, wrapping an arm around Bella's shoulder. He seemed oddly perky, considering the uptight atmosphere. "We'll stay. It's not like we have anything better to do."

"Yeah," Bella agreed, moving to rest her head on Jacob's shoulder. "It's not like I have a job to go to anymore."

Mia gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that. Maybe Seb will let you stay?" she offered.

Bella shook her head. "It won't be the same," she said quietly.

Mia shrugged with one shoulder before looking back at Embry again. They both looked each other in the eye for a moment before turning their heads away. Everyone stood there for a beat before Mia gave an infuriated huff and whirled around to face Embry, hands on her hips.

"Quit acting like such a fucking douchebag motherfucking asshole, angry, _selfish_—I…I…You just…ARGH! I _asked _you to come with me, and you're the one who said _no_. So don't look at me like _I'm _the one who's doing something wrong here, okay?" And with that she turned on her heel and stormed into the diner.

Embry continued to lean against his car, his expression unreadable. He turned and looked into the window of the passenger's side for a moment, as if he was contemplating opening the door. Finally he turned around and followed Mia into the diner.

"Oh how I would _love_ to be a fly on the wall for whatever conversation they're about to have," Jacob said.

"I know, but I just _hate_ seeing them like this. I really wish—Jacob Black, why are you laughing?"

Jacob backed away from her, towards Embry's car. He was biting his lip to keep himself from grinning and there was a mischievous glint to his eye. "Because Embry Call is such a little shit. He's spent this whole past hour just letting her hate him, when all the while he's…Oh come here and see for yourself." He grabbed her hand and towed her over to the passenger's side of Embry's beat up car. "Look into the window, on what's sitting in the car seat."

Bella obeyed, cupping her hands and peering through the window. "There's a plane ticket and what looks like transfer acceptance papers to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University." Bella snapped up straight and turned to Jacob, her eyes wide with disbelief. "I didn't think Embry was that smart."

Jacob snorted. "He's book smart, just not street smart." He nudged her playfully with his elbow. "But you get it though? He's following her?" He drew back, surprised when Bella didn't immediately react. "I thought you'd be really excited to hear this."

Bella shook her head quickly. "Oh no! I am! It's just my mind is still reeling over the fact that Embry Call got into Virginia Tech—"

"Hey, it shocked me too," came Mia's pleased drawl from behind them. Bella turned around and grinned at her and Embry, who were standing behind them hand in hand. Mia looked amused, if slightly exasperated. Embry just looked pleased with himself.

The sound of crunching gravel made them all turn and watch as a beat up Toyota pulled into the parking lot. After parking the car Sebastian popped out of the driver's seat, an excited grin stretched across his face.

Mia's expression however, turned grim, and Bella saw Embry move a little bit closer to her, as if to provide support. Sebastian bounded up to them, his smile fading when he caught his twin's wary gaze. "Oh come on, you know I'm going to take care of it!"

Mia twisted the toe of her shoe into the dirt and sighed. "Yeah I know you will. But if I hear _one _bad thing from mom I'll leave my lovely new beach life just to fly out here and kick your ass into next Sunday, got that?"

Sebastian nodded enthusiastically, his grin returning. "Oh how the tables have turned," he said with mock vexation.

Mia gave him a half smile before punching him playfully in the shoulder and waving for him to follow her inside. "The papers you need to sign are on the counter, and I still need to show you how to properly grill a steak, since you still fucking _destroy_ yours to this day."

"That's not true," Sebastian snapped indignantly. The twins began to argue as they continued into the diner, Embry behind them, their voices fading as the front door shut behind them with a click.

Jacob turned and strolled back over to Bella's truck and hopped into the bed, gesturing for Bella to follow him. After he helped her up, they both laid down and curled up close to each other in order to keep warm. The sun was setting and the sky blazed with pink and gold shaded clouds.

"So now we have friends in Virginia, who would have thought," Jacob said, amusement coloring his tone. Bella looped her arm over his waist and pressed the side of her cheek into his chest. "You know, it would be nice to visit them, and then I'll have an excuse to swing by Florida on the way back and visit Renee. I haven't seen her in forever."

"I wouldn't mind going to Florida. I've never really been out of the north west, to be honest," Jacob mused, his breath warm against her neck.

Bella lifted her head up so that she could look at his face. "And on our way back from Florida, we might as well swing into New Orleans."

"Or we could stay in Florida and go to Disney World."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Geez Jake—"

"Oh whatever, I never got to go as a kid. I need to make up for lost time."

Bella shook her head, but she was smiling. "Sure thing then."

Grinning, Jacob began to run his fingers through her hair, smoothing out the tangles the wind had caused. "It doesn't really matter though," he said, leaning forward and placing butterfly kisses on the top of her head.

"It doesn't?"

"Nope. As long as I'm with you I'm pretty content."

"Well in that case," Bella pushed herself up and rolled on top of Jacob, straddling his waist. "Let's just stay right here."

Jacob's happy smile stretched to his eyes. "You know what Bells, I _love _that idea."

* * *

**A/N: And thus ends **_**Unimpressed**_**. First of all, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who consistently reviewed and provided encouragement with each chapter. I mean it when I say that you guys brighten my day, I really do. The last couple of chapters for this fic were more difficult for me to write due to loss of interest, but you guys reminded me why I needed to finish this story and I thank you so much for that. I don't like not finishing what I start, so I'm happy to say I completed this fic.**

**One thing I do want to address, this story was never written with the intention of being super serious or well thought out. **_**Unimpressed**_** is the result of me goofing around with the Twilight characters on Microsoft Word. I'm serious. I wanted to write something fun, that could make you laugh, since Jacob and Bella fanfiction is usually crowded with angst stories that are serious business. I wanted to do something light hearted. I've had a few people point out here and there that this story was unrealistic or OOC at times…well, like I said, I never wrote it with the intention of it being extremely in-character or realistic. That was never my purpose with this story. **_**Unimpressed **_**is supposed to make you laugh, pure and simple. I can only hope it managed to achieve that.**

**Phew! That was long winded! ANYWAY. I'm going to go ahead and answer some questions so you guys don't have to ask them.**

**Will there be a sequel?**

Nope.

**Are you going to write Mia/Embry spinoffs?**

Probably not. Since I saw such an outpouring of love for this little ship, I'd be curious to see what you guys, the readers, could come up with involving them.

**Will you write more Jacob/Bella stories?**

I'll write more one-shots and drabbles, but I can't see myself writing another multi-chapter fic for them. But never say never…

**What's up next for you, fic writing wise?**

Some J/B one-shots are up my sleeve, like I said, but my next big project is going to be writing stories for Avatar: The Last Airbender (Zuko/Katara, before anyone asks). I broke down last week and wrote a one-shot for them. It's up on my account here in case any of you wanted to read it.

**AND THAT'S ALL FOLKS!**

**I seriously love you guys!**

**/long as fuck author's note**


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